Burma World News

Burma's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, may soon be released so she can play a role in next year's election, a senior Burmese diplomat has said. "There is a plan to release her soon ... so she can organise her party," Min Lwin, a director-general in the foreign ministry, to ld the Associated Press. He gave no details and it was unclear whether Aung San Suu Kyi would be allowed to campaign or stand for election. Despite the conciliatory remarks, the country's constitution includes provisions that bar her from holding office and ensure the primacy of the government in the military. The Nobel ... Read Full Story

Than Shwe Song and Dance Routine It would appear that the only beneficiary to all these meetings in Burma will be the caterers. With Daw Aung San Suu Kyi still under house arrest, political prisoners continue to be tortured and increased secret arrests of monks and opposition go unreported. Not much has changed in fact things only got worse according to insiders. On the bright side Than Shwe succeeded in buying critically needed time and fostered pseudo legitimacy for his bogus 2010 Election and regime. The shine of US diplomacy has lost its luster in the public’s eye as another round of Gambari’esk meetings ... Read Full Story

BBC News | Asia-Pacific Page last updated at 09:52 GMT, Thursday, 29 October 2009 Burma, also known as Myanmar, is ruled by a military junta which suppresses almost all dissent and wields absolute power in the face of international condemnation and sanctions. The generals and the army stand accused of gross human rights abuses, including the forcible relocation of civilians and the widespread use of forced labour, which includes children. A popular uprising was forcibly crushed in 1988 and mass demonstrations were not seen again until 2007, when a small string of protests about living standards gained momentum among a public normally too cowed ... Read Full Story

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar authorities have arrested up to 50 people including journalists, political activists and students in a security crackdown this month in its biggest city, a Thailand-based human rights group said on Friday. The arrests include 10 journalists along with a number of opponents to Myanmar's ruling military junta, said Bo Kyi, co-founder of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a group of former detainees who track those behind bars. "It's not clear why they were arrested. Their families were not given an explanation," said Bo Kyi. Witnesses said the arrests coincide with a tightening of security across Yangon in recent days ... Read Full Story

INO.com Nov 27 2009 (RTTNews) - The United Nations has called for more aid for hundreds of thousands of people still living in makeshift shelters 18 months after Cyclone Nargis killed over 140,000 people in Myanmar. International donors have pledged a fresh $88m for 17,800 new houses, 40 new schools and livelihood programs for one million people but the amount falls short of the $103m sought for the period until July by the world body and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional grouping that includes Myanmar. Bishow Parajuli, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar, said Wednesday that the amount falls ... Read Full Story