Aung San Suu Kyi met again with Myanmar's powerful commander-in-chief on Wednesday, according to a Facebook post by his office, as talks over a protracted political transition drag on and amid reports that the military chief has secured a five-year extension.
The meeting is the third between Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and Suu Kyi since her National League for Democracy (NLD) won a sweeping victory at the Nov. 8 general election, securing some 80 percent of elected seats in parliament.
The post on the page of the commander-in-chief's office said that discussions in Naypyitaw, the capital, lasted just over an hour and focused on "the rule of law and achieving everlasting peace." Top aides from the NLD and military were both present.
The meetings between Suu Kyi and Min Aung Hlaing, the last of which took place in late January, have been closely watched by the Myanmar public, but neither side has divulged the content of the talks. (Courtesy of Reuters)
February 17, 2016
Parliament Not for Self-Promotion, Suu Kyi Tells MPs
National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has told Union MPs that they are not to use their positions to further themselves or their own interests, at an international training programme for freshman lawmakers in Myanmar’s capital on Monday.
Addressing hundreds of newly-minted MPs in the Union parliament building, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that those assembled had been elected to represent the national interest.
“MPs are in the parliament to represent the people, not representing themselves,” she said. “The Hluttaw is not a place for self-interest or self-promotion. It is not a boxing ring to host fights between people of different opinions. It is a place for all to work together for the benefit of the country.” (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Addressing hundreds of newly-minted MPs in the Union parliament building, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that those assembled had been elected to represent the national interest.
“MPs are in the parliament to represent the people, not representing themselves,” she said. “The Hluttaw is not a place for self-interest or self-promotion. It is not a boxing ring to host fights between people of different opinions. It is a place for all to work together for the benefit of the country.” (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Thousands displaced in Myanmar rebel clashes: UN
Heavy fighting in the northern state of Shan broke out last week between the Restoration Council for Shan State (RCSS) and the Ta?ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).
It is a rare instance of the country's ethnic armed groups turning on each other and comes during a complicated transition from an army-backed government to Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party.
"We are receiving reports that more than 3,000 people have been displaced in the past week," said Mark Cutts, country head of the UN?s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
He said most of them were being housed in monasteries in the town of Kyaukme and receiving help from local groups and the Myanmar Red Cross.
Kyaukme's lower-house MP Sai Tun Aung told parliament in an emergency debate on the issue that locals have reported teachers and students fleeing on foot to escape arrests, killings and arson attacks being carried out by "an armed group moving around the region". (Courtesy of Yahoo 7)
It is a rare instance of the country's ethnic armed groups turning on each other and comes during a complicated transition from an army-backed government to Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party.
"We are receiving reports that more than 3,000 people have been displaced in the past week," said Mark Cutts, country head of the UN?s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
He said most of them were being housed in monasteries in the town of Kyaukme and receiving help from local groups and the Myanmar Red Cross.
Kyaukme's lower-house MP Sai Tun Aung told parliament in an emergency debate on the issue that locals have reported teachers and students fleeing on foot to escape arrests, killings and arson attacks being carried out by "an armed group moving around the region". (Courtesy of Yahoo 7)
Aung Myo Min: ‘Treat Us as Human Beings, Not as a Problem’
U Aung Myo Min is one of Myanmar’s best-known LGBT activists. He fled to Thailand after the 1988 anti-government uprising, joining the All Burma Students Democratic Front movement, before studying human rights at Columbia University in New York.
In 2012, he returned to Myanmar for the first time in 23 years, where he devoted his attention to the issues facing the country’s LGBT people. His story – which includes the torture and death of his partner during the anti-government struggle – is documented in the award-winning movie “This Kind of Love”.
What is some of the work Equality Myanmar is currently doing in Myanmar?
We have three strategies. First is the empowerment of LGBT people, so we are working on community-based activities and social events, for example hosting the IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia) on May 17.
The second part is through the media. We educate non-LGBT people about how to understand what LGBT is, and about discrimination of people based on sexual orientation. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
In 2012, he returned to Myanmar for the first time in 23 years, where he devoted his attention to the issues facing the country’s LGBT people. His story – which includes the torture and death of his partner during the anti-government struggle – is documented in the award-winning movie “This Kind of Love”.
What is some of the work Equality Myanmar is currently doing in Myanmar?
We have three strategies. First is the empowerment of LGBT people, so we are working on community-based activities and social events, for example hosting the IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia) on May 17.
The second part is through the media. We educate non-LGBT people about how to understand what LGBT is, and about discrimination of people based on sexual orientation. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Myanmar’s forgotten local elections
Despite its importance, this historic exercise in local democracy has been almost fully overlooked and ignored by the media, donors, and local and international organisations. Until recently, not a single donor dollar had been allocated to support the process. No election monitoring missions were deployed and no voter education conducted. Few media articles had been devoted to the topic. Since then, a small but important initiative by one international organisation late in the process has resulted in mobilisation of a handful of local civil society organisations. But overall the level of support and interest stands in stark contrast to that for the general election of November 8, 2015.
The backdrop to the vote
These forgotten elections are for ward and village-tract administrators. On December 30, 2015, the General Administration Department (GAD) announced in the Global New Light of Myanmar that the elections would take place during January 2016. This came as no surprise, because the law stipulates that the term of ward and village-tract administrators is concurrent to that of the Union Parliament, or Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which ended in late January. The local elections are under the purview of the GAD and not the Union Election Commission (UEC). (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
The backdrop to the vote
These forgotten elections are for ward and village-tract administrators. On December 30, 2015, the General Administration Department (GAD) announced in the Global New Light of Myanmar that the elections would take place during January 2016. This came as no surprise, because the law stipulates that the term of ward and village-tract administrators is concurrent to that of the Union Parliament, or Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which ended in late January. The local elections are under the purview of the GAD and not the Union Election Commission (UEC). (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
Myanmar featured in Bangkok festival
The very next day, British troops marched into Mandalay Palace to demand the unconditional surrender of King Thibaw, the last king of the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma and the last in Myanmar history. Thibaw, along with his two wives and their young daughters, was exiled to the remote town of Ratnagiri in India, ending the dynasty’s 103-year reign.
What happened to the family during the 30 years that followed, however, has remained something of a mystery ever since, as the stories of the young princesses and their descendants have been buried by the sands of time. Until, that is, Indian author Sudha Shah – inspired by Amitav Ghosh’s historical novel The Glass Palace – spent eight years uncovering them, meticulously piecing together fragments of their forgotten stories for her 2012 book The King in Exile: The Fall of the Royal Family of Burma. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
What happened to the family during the 30 years that followed, however, has remained something of a mystery ever since, as the stories of the young princesses and their descendants have been buried by the sands of time. Until, that is, Indian author Sudha Shah – inspired by Amitav Ghosh’s historical novel The Glass Palace – spent eight years uncovering them, meticulously piecing together fragments of their forgotten stories for her 2012 book The King in Exile: The Fall of the Royal Family of Burma. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
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