For those harbouring any hopes that the military regime in Burma was moving towards some kind of real democracy, this week’s announcement of the laws for the forthcoming elections must have come as a rude shock. Under the new rules, no one who is a member of religious order or anyone with a criminal conviction can stand. (more…)

Amid the rash of commemorations celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall last year, it was easy to feel that 1989 was a year in which freedom advanced everywhere. The Soviet empire collapsed. Two years later the Soviet Union itself disintegrated. A few months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nelson Mandela was released. The end of the cold war unfroze deadlocked political situations all over the world. (more…)

Since 1996, military abuses have forced 1m villagers to flee their homes, according to UN draft report. (more…)

PRESIDENT OBAMA took office hoping that constructive diplomacy could yield progress on some of the thorniest foreign-policy challenges facing the United States. Among these was Burma, a Southeast Asian nation of 50 million people that has been misruled into poverty, decline and perpetual warfare by a benighted military dictatorship. Mr. Obama did not abandon economic sanctions against the regime, but he did hold out the prospect of warmer relations if Burma’s regime would show some sign of easing up on its people. (more…)

THE junta ruling Myanmar has had 20 years to digest the lessons from the country’s most recent election. It was trounced by the National League for Democracy, even though the opposition’s charismatic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was already under house arrest. This year on an unnamed date (perhaps its astrologers cannot agree) the junta will hold another election. It will not lose this one. (more…)

The Burmese junta’s new electoral laws are designed to give the regime a veneer of democratic respectability. (more…)

If there is one thing all authoritarian systems have in common it’s their desire to eliminate all forms of dissent. The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Burma is no exception. (more…)

Nay Pyi Taw – To disrupt the stability of the State, to cause a state of panic among the public and unrest in the country, destructionists have stepped up sabotage acts and spread rumours in the country. (more…)

Amnesty International has urged Myanmar to overturn a new law that bars all political prisoners, including detained Nobel Peace-prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, from belonging to a political party before upcoming national elections. (more…)

Burma’s long awaited election law has been published in state controlled newspapers but failed to create much excitement. Unsurprisingly, no date for the election was set, although the regime has promised to hold it sometime this year. (more…)

The following is the unofficial translation of the Election Commission Law by the Burmese regime dated 8 March 2010. Though the junta published the election commission law in Burmese in state-run newspapers, no English version has been published so far. Mizzima translates it. (more…)

While the military regime in Burma has iterated that it will hold a general election for a new legislature before the end of 2010, government officials have been relentlessly pursuing, intimidating and imprisoning political opponents. In recent weeks the Asian Human Rights Commission has issued appeals on a number of such cases, including the sentencing of a journalist to 13 years in jail for non-existent video footage; the detention, torture and evidence-free trial of 11 people; and the imprisonment of another nine on confessions obtained through use of torture. (more…)

Mandalay – In September 1952, Russian dictator Joseph Stalin and Chinese foreign minister Chou Enlai convened an extraordinary meeting to discuss the future of Southeast Asia. As recorded in the book, Mao: The Unknown Story, Chou talked about the region “as if its fate were to be entirely decided by Peking”. (more…)

Australian women should never settle for anything less than full equality and equal pay for equal work. (more…)

On the occasion of Monday’s International Women’s Day, it’s perhaps timely to ask whether any of Burma’s governments has ever respected the right of women to participate in the country’s affairs, especially in politics and governments. The answer is “no.”   (more…)

Saskatoon, Canada – The 3rd Burma Forum Canada was successfully held from March 6 to 7, 2010 in Saskatoon, Canada. More than 50 Burmese organizational representatives including ethnic nationalities across Canada and representatives from National Coalition Government of Union of Burma (NCGUB), the Burmese government in exile, Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) and Euro-Burma Office (EBO) participated. A wide range of Burma-related issues such as international polices towards Burma, analysis on 2010 elections and possible scenarios, and the role of ethnic nationalities in the political process in Burma were discussed. The Forum participants unanimously agreed to announce the following: (more…)

Bangkok – While Aung San Suu Kyi remains the most widely-known woman suppressed for her political views in Burma, the jails in that military-ruled country continue to be filled by lesser-known women dissidents being held on a range of questionable charges. (more…)

Burma is in the grip of election fever, even though a date for the polls has yet to be announced. Most analysts and diplomats are now tipping October or November as the election date. (more…)

Several months have passed since the Obama administration embarked on a policy of engagement with the Burmese regime. During this time, the United Nations, the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have all been relatively silent on Burmese issues, apparently waiting to see how the new US policy will play out. (more…)

Forget Avatar, The Hurt Locker, and all the rest for a minute. Here’s the story of the film that deserves to win big. (more…)