Muslims make up just over two per cent of Myanmar's population, government census figures showed on Thursday (Jul 21), undercutting claims by Buddhist hardliners that Islam poses a threat to the dominance of their faith.
Full details from the 2014 count, the first of its kind in decades, was withheld for almost a year to avoid stirring tensions in the Buddhist-majority nation ahead of elections that propelled Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party to power.
Islamophobia has rippled across Myanmar in recent years, with Buddhist nationalists sending alarmist messages about the growth of the Muslim population. (Courtesy of channelnewsasia.com)
July 22, 2016
Myanmar military admits soldiers killed villagers during interrogation
Five villagers have been killed by soldiers during an interrogation in Myanmar, a senior general said, in a rare admission by the country’s powerful military which promised to prosecute the perpetrators.
Witnesses have told Reuters that soldiers rounded up dozens of men in a remote part of the northern Shan state – an area riven by a long-running ethnic insurgency – on 25 June and led five men away. The bodies of the five were found in a shallow grave a few days later.
Lieutenant General Mya Tun Oo, one of Myanmar’s highest-ranking officers and the chief of military intelligence, told a news conference in Yangon that a court martial was under way and that the verdict would be made public. (Courtesy of theguardian.com)
Witnesses have told Reuters that soldiers rounded up dozens of men in a remote part of the northern Shan state – an area riven by a long-running ethnic insurgency – on 25 June and led five men away. The bodies of the five were found in a shallow grave a few days later.
Lieutenant General Mya Tun Oo, one of Myanmar’s highest-ranking officers and the chief of military intelligence, told a news conference in Yangon that a court martial was under way and that the verdict would be made public. (Courtesy of theguardian.com)
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi accepts Obama's invitation to visit US
Myanmar government leader Aung San Suu Kyi has accepted an invitation from President Barack Obama to visit the United States, the government said on Thursday, in what would be her first trip to America since she won an election in November.
Suu Kyi planned to travel at a "mutually convenient time", a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said. Another government source said the trip was likely to coincide with the U.N. General Assembly session in New York in September.
Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, swept to power in a historic election in November after decades of campaigning against military rule.
It took over the running of the country after a transition from semi-civilian rule in April.
"She accepted President Obama's invitation to visit the U.S. before his presidency ends," said Aye Aye Soe, a spokeswoman at the foreign ministry, which is run by Suu Kyi.
Visiting U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes delivered Obama's invitation during a meeting with Suu Kyi in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Wednesday. (Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk)
Suu Kyi planned to travel at a "mutually convenient time", a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said. Another government source said the trip was likely to coincide with the U.N. General Assembly session in New York in September.
Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, swept to power in a historic election in November after decades of campaigning against military rule.
It took over the running of the country after a transition from semi-civilian rule in April.
"She accepted President Obama's invitation to visit the U.S. before his presidency ends," said Aye Aye Soe, a spokeswoman at the foreign ministry, which is run by Suu Kyi.
Visiting U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes delivered Obama's invitation during a meeting with Suu Kyi in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Wednesday. (Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk)
Myanmar frees BBC reporter from jail after appeal
A journalist from the BBC's Myanmar-language service walked free from prison on Thursday after a court accepted his appeal against a three-month sentence handed down in June for striking a policeman.
“I'm in good health and I'm very thankful to those who expressed concerns and worked for my release,” the journalist, Nay Myo Lin, told Reuters by telephone.
Thein Than Oo, his lawyer, told Reuters the court in Mandalay, the country's second largest city, accepted Mr. Nay Myo Lin's appeal and he was freed from prison soon afterwards.
Photographs uploaded to the BBC Myanmar-language Facebook page showed a smiling Mr. Nay Myo Lin walking out of prison beside his pregnant wife. (Courtesy of thehindu.com)
“I'm in good health and I'm very thankful to those who expressed concerns and worked for my release,” the journalist, Nay Myo Lin, told Reuters by telephone.
Thein Than Oo, his lawyer, told Reuters the court in Mandalay, the country's second largest city, accepted Mr. Nay Myo Lin's appeal and he was freed from prison soon afterwards.
Photographs uploaded to the BBC Myanmar-language Facebook page showed a smiling Mr. Nay Myo Lin walking out of prison beside his pregnant wife. (Courtesy of thehindu.com)
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