The rebel Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, which is comprised of ethnic Han Chinese, launched attacks against the army on 9 February 2015 in a failed bid to take over their historic homeland, the Kokang Self-Administered Zone. Heavy fighting for control of the frontier region lasted for months. The fighting has died down now, but Kokang is still heavily militarized.
The conflict drove about 70,000 people over the border into China’s Yunnan Province, according to the United Nations.
The Kokang Refugee Assistance Program, a local group that collects donations and distributes food, said 27,000 refugees remain scattered in camps near the town of Nansan. The UN puts the figure at 4,000, but because it cannot visit Kokang or areas on the Chinese side of the border, it relies on civil society organisations for its statistics. (Courtesy of IRIN)
March 17, 2016
Myanmar’s new president might not be Aung San Suu Kyi, but he does represent progress
Myanmar parliament’s official confirmation on Tuesday that Aung San Suu Kyi’s aide – Htin Kyaw– is to be the presidential proxy ended months of hopeful speculation. Numerous articles and newspaper editorials had, excitedly, touched on the fairytale of a Burmese Mandela moment: the country’s most popular politician, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, assuming the highest office after years of relentless persecution, heroic perseverance and noble reconciliation.
For those of us Burmese who know the military’s institutionalised disdain towards the woman who most of the country call Ahmay, or Mother, we knew that western media was wasting ink on a foregone conclusion. The military will never let Aung San Suu Kyi be the head of state, nor hold the reins of state power. They did not accept her when she first emerged in 1988 and they still don’t accept her leadership, 28 years later, on the verge of her 71st birthday.
The generals used to give their approval to derogatory references to her that appeared in the numerous Burmese-language publications run by the military intelligence services. Because she was married to a Briton, she used to be called Kala maya (or wife of a white nigger), or, worse still, Kala ma (female nigger). Against the backdrop of the Arab spring and Barack Obama’s offer to decriminalise “rogue regimes” should they cooperate with the Americans, the generals decided to change their tack in dealing with their nemesis, the darling of the west. (Courtesy of The Guardian)
For those of us Burmese who know the military’s institutionalised disdain towards the woman who most of the country call Ahmay, or Mother, we knew that western media was wasting ink on a foregone conclusion. The military will never let Aung San Suu Kyi be the head of state, nor hold the reins of state power. They did not accept her when she first emerged in 1988 and they still don’t accept her leadership, 28 years later, on the verge of her 71st birthday.
The generals used to give their approval to derogatory references to her that appeared in the numerous Burmese-language publications run by the military intelligence services. Because she was married to a Briton, she used to be called Kala maya (or wife of a white nigger), or, worse still, Kala ma (female nigger). Against the backdrop of the Arab spring and Barack Obama’s offer to decriminalise “rogue regimes” should they cooperate with the Americans, the generals decided to change their tack in dealing with their nemesis, the darling of the west. (Courtesy of The Guardian)
Army chief pledges to cooperate with Htin Kyaw
Burma‘s powerful army chief congratulated incoming president Htin Kyaw and pledged cooperation on Wednesday, after the ally of Aung San Suu Kyi was elected as the country’s first head of state with no military background in decades.
Suu Kyi led her National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide election win in November, but a constitution drafted by the former junta bars her from the top office.
She has vowed to run the country anyway through a proxy president, and on Tuesday the NLD-dominated parliament elected Htin Kyaw for the role. He runs a charity founded by Suu Kyi and is a trusted member of her inner circle.
Relations between the armed forces and Suu Kyi will define the success of Burma‘s most significant break from military rule since the army seized power in 1962.
The armed forces hold a quarter of parliamentary seats and the constitutional right to nominate one of the three presidential candidates. The army candidate, retired general Myint Swe, was elected first vice president on Tuesday. (Courtesy of DVB)
Suu Kyi led her National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide election win in November, but a constitution drafted by the former junta bars her from the top office.
She has vowed to run the country anyway through a proxy president, and on Tuesday the NLD-dominated parliament elected Htin Kyaw for the role. He runs a charity founded by Suu Kyi and is a trusted member of her inner circle.
Relations between the armed forces and Suu Kyi will define the success of Burma‘s most significant break from military rule since the army seized power in 1962.
The armed forces hold a quarter of parliamentary seats and the constitutional right to nominate one of the three presidential candidates. The army candidate, retired general Myint Swe, was elected first vice president on Tuesday. (Courtesy of DVB)
Rohingya issue a regional threat, says Burma’s military chief
Rohingya Muslims represent an “unconventional threat” to the entire Southeast Asia region, according to the commander-in-chief of Burma’s armed forces, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing.
Speaking at a gathering of his regional counterparts on Monday, the Burmese armed forces leader called for closer cooperation between the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to address the problem of Rohingya migration.
The senior general raised the issue at the 13th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Informal Meeting in Vientiane, Laos, according the state-run newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar.
At the gathering, he stressed the need to work together to combat “terrorism” related to “the ‘Bengali’ [Rohingya] issue,” the newspaper reported. (Courtesy of DVB)
Speaking at a gathering of his regional counterparts on Monday, the Burmese armed forces leader called for closer cooperation between the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to address the problem of Rohingya migration.
The senior general raised the issue at the 13th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Informal Meeting in Vientiane, Laos, according the state-run newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar.
At the gathering, he stressed the need to work together to combat “terrorism” related to “the ‘Bengali’ [Rohingya] issue,” the newspaper reported. (Courtesy of DVB)
NZ scholarships open up new world for Myanmar students
Ko Khin Maung Htwe’s first attempt to study in New Zealand ended inauspiciously, with a rejection letter from Victoria University. “My [Myanmar] university degree was not enough,” he explained.
Perseverance paid off, however, and more than two years later, the 31-year-old is at the helm of the newly opened New Zealand Scholarship Centre in Yangon, and holds a master’s degree in public policy from Victoria University. He said there was never any question that he would return to Myanmar after completing his degree.
“Most of the ASEAN Scholar alumni see the different worlds and they have that feeling that ‘we should go back to our own country’,” he said in a recent interview. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
Perseverance paid off, however, and more than two years later, the 31-year-old is at the helm of the newly opened New Zealand Scholarship Centre in Yangon, and holds a master’s degree in public policy from Victoria University. He said there was never any question that he would return to Myanmar after completing his degree.
“Most of the ASEAN Scholar alumni see the different worlds and they have that feeling that ‘we should go back to our own country’,” he said in a recent interview. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
White House hails election of Myanmar's new president
President Barack Obama's White House on Tuesday welcomed Htin Kyaw's election as Myanmar's first civilian president in half a century, saying it was "an important step" in the country's democratization.
Senior Obama advisor Ben Rhodes hailed the move and noted that the 69-year-old was a "close associate" of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi, a popular Nobel laureate, is herself barred from becoming president by the military drafted constitution. She is widely expected to wield power behind in an unofficial capacity.
Rhodes, who has led rapprochement with Myanmar, said Htin Kyaw's appointment was "an important step forward in Burma's democratic transition."
"We look forward to working with his govt," he wrote on Twitter. (Courtesy of MSN)
Senior Obama advisor Ben Rhodes hailed the move and noted that the 69-year-old was a "close associate" of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi, a popular Nobel laureate, is herself barred from becoming president by the military drafted constitution. She is widely expected to wield power behind in an unofficial capacity.
Rhodes, who has led rapprochement with Myanmar, said Htin Kyaw's appointment was "an important step forward in Burma's democratic transition."
"We look forward to working with his govt," he wrote on Twitter. (Courtesy of MSN)
Myanmar journalist's home targeted in bomb attack
The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an independent, high-level investigation into the bombing of a journalist's home in western Myanmar and for the perpetrators to be swiftly identified and brought to justice.
Min Min, chief editor and general manager of the online Root Investigative Agency, a collective of local freelance journalists based in Sittwe, the capital of the western state of Rakhine, told reporters on Tuesday that a bomb exploded at his home in the late evening of March 10, according to local reports.
Min Min and his family were traveling at the time of the bombing, and nobody was injured in the attack, news reports said. The residence, which also serves as a Root Investigative Agency office, was not seriously damaged by the blast, reports said. A local Kamayut Media video report on the attack's aftermath showed several deep holes in the wall surrounding the residence's compound.(Courtesy of cpj.org)
Min Min, chief editor and general manager of the online Root Investigative Agency, a collective of local freelance journalists based in Sittwe, the capital of the western state of Rakhine, told reporters on Tuesday that a bomb exploded at his home in the late evening of March 10, according to local reports.
Min Min and his family were traveling at the time of the bombing, and nobody was injured in the attack, news reports said. The residence, which also serves as a Root Investigative Agency office, was not seriously damaged by the blast, reports said. A local Kamayut Media video report on the attack's aftermath showed several deep holes in the wall surrounding the residence's compound.(Courtesy of cpj.org)
‘Myanmar, now stands on the threshold of hope’ Cardinal Charles Maung Bo
Speaking at a side event at a meeting of the United Nations Human Right’s Council in Geneva yesterday, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Yangon Charles Maung Bo gave the following address.
“My country, Myanmar, now stands on the threshold of hope. After over half a century of brutal oppression at the hands of a succession of military regimes, and after more than sixty years of civil war, we now have the possibility to begin to build a new Myanmar, to develop the values of democracy, to better protect and promote human rights, to work for peace. Myanmar has woken to a new dawn, with the first democratically elected government led by our Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy. We have a chance – for the first time in my lifetime – of making progress towards reconciliation and freedom as a nation. There is a vibrant civil society and a freer media. We know that while evil has an expiry date, hope has no expiry date.
And yet there is a very, very long way to go; there are many, many challenges to confront; and no one should think that the election of the new government means that our struggle is over. It is just the very beginning. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
“My country, Myanmar, now stands on the threshold of hope. After over half a century of brutal oppression at the hands of a succession of military regimes, and after more than sixty years of civil war, we now have the possibility to begin to build a new Myanmar, to develop the values of democracy, to better protect and promote human rights, to work for peace. Myanmar has woken to a new dawn, with the first democratically elected government led by our Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy. We have a chance – for the first time in my lifetime – of making progress towards reconciliation and freedom as a nation. There is a vibrant civil society and a freer media. We know that while evil has an expiry date, hope has no expiry date.
And yet there is a very, very long way to go; there are many, many challenges to confront; and no one should think that the election of the new government means that our struggle is over. It is just the very beginning. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
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