Yangon, Myanmar – In a remote prison in northwest Myanmar, Aye Aung wakes up each day as he has for nearly 14 years alone in a dark cell on a wooden plank, a prisoner of conscience all but forgotten by the world. (more…)

Burmese army personnel suspected of using forced labour will be prosecuted under civilian law, according to senior military chiefs who met with representatives from the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Rangoon last week. (more…)

NAY PYI TAW, 8 May – The secretary of central campaign team of National League for Democracy complained to Union Election Commission on 1-4-2012 by a letter that returning officers in Pale, Mawlamyine, Myanaung, Magway, Taungdwingyi, Kawhmu, Mingala Taungnyunt, Mayangon, Dagon (Seikkan) and Kalaw (Aungpan) Townships gave voters waxed ballot papers unable to put the tick on in 1 April by-election; request for change was turned down; waxing the ballot papers caused destruction to them; and it was happening all around the country. (more…)

Tokyo — As Myanmar prepares for an economic resurgence following the end of decades of military rule, wide-eyed firms from all over Asia are competing for a piece of the potentially lucrative pie. (more…)

Shweri Chai, Myanmar — For decades the islanders of Shweri Chai, a speck of land in the Bay of Bengal, have extracted oil using makeshift pulleys to draw the reddish liquid from the ground. (more…)

Doctors in Burma are calling for the “devastating gap” between people’s need and access to treatment for HIV and Aids to be bridged. There are approximately 240,000 people with HIV in Burma, half of whom are in urgent need of life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART), say doctors. According to national estimates in 2010, less than 30,000 of them were receiving it. (more…)

Burmese Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo is famous for his foul mouth and being one of the former regime’s most corrupt generals. But recently, some visitors were astonished to see the battle-hardened military man preach teachings from the Buddha. (more…)

Skepticism regarding the value of the Myanmar Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has been virtually universal—leading to tired jokes that the very term is in itself an oxymoron. (more…)

In any contest, the obvious winner is rarely ever the only winner. This is often lost sight of in the moment of euphoria. The overwhelming victory of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) in the 45 by-elections to Myanmar’s Parliament has other winners, too. (more…)

The latest craze amongst destinations for the diplomatic community globally seems to be Myanmar. The deluge started with Hillary Clinton flying down in November 2011. However, is all the enthusiasm, easing of sanctions and ambassadors being deputed going to enhance the avowed objective of the democratisation of Myanmar? Is there a possibility of reforms slowing down with too much being offered too early? (more…)