The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) highlighted on Sunday the slow advance of human rights issues in Myanmar during the first 100 days of a civilian government, after half a century of military rule.
The NGO urged the Myanmar government, run behind the scenes by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, for a national agenda on human rights and to urgently address key issues.
“In some human rights areas, progress has been slow; in others, key issues have remained unaddressed or been relegated to a low priority status. The government must not fall victim to complacency because of its extraordinary popular support,” FIDH President Karim Lahidji said in a statement.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) party achieved a landslide victory in the November elections that allowed it to form a government on its own on March 30, the first civilian government since 1962. (Courtesy of laht.com)
July 11, 2016
22 rebel armies invited to summit
Twenty-one ethnic armed groups, including Wa, Mongla and Naga armies, and political parties, will be invited to the Mai Ja Yang summit, according to Pado Saw Kwel Htoo Win, vice-chair of the organising committee.
The Mai Ja Yang summit in Kachin State scheduled for July 26 to 29 aims to help encourage all groups to participate in the so-called 21st-century Panglong conference next month.
“We will invite all armed groups and political alliances, like the United Nationalities Alliance and Nationalities Brotherhood Federation, to the summit. Youth and women's groups will also be invited.” (Courtesy of elevenmyanmar.com)
The Mai Ja Yang summit in Kachin State scheduled for July 26 to 29 aims to help encourage all groups to participate in the so-called 21st-century Panglong conference next month.
“We will invite all armed groups and political alliances, like the United Nationalities Alliance and Nationalities Brotherhood Federation, to the summit. Youth and women's groups will also be invited.” (Courtesy of elevenmyanmar.com)
Suu Kyi to attend Asean summit
State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi will visit Laos this month to attend the 49th Asean Foreign Ministers’ meeting from July 21 to 26 in Vientiane, said deputy director general Aung Myo Myint from the Asean Affairs Department.
“We will only discuss regional issues. Some Asean foreign ministers are newly elected and they will meet Suu Kyi,” said the deputy director general.(Courtesy of elevenmyanmar.com)
“We will only discuss regional issues. Some Asean foreign ministers are newly elected and they will meet Suu Kyi,” said the deputy director general.(Courtesy of elevenmyanmar.com)
July 10, 2016
US State Counselor coming to Myanmar
US State Department Counselor Kristie Kenney will travel to Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw July 12–14, to meet with her Myanmar government counterparts, civil society representatives, and YSEALI alumni, according to a US State Department report July 8.
She will also speak with business leaders and TechCamp alumni. Counselor Kenney’s visit underscores the U.S. commitment to Myanmar’s democratic transition, the value of people-to-people exchanges, and the role of US businesses in supporting inclusive, broad-based economic growth, according to a statement from her department. (Courtesy of mizzima.com)
She will also speak with business leaders and TechCamp alumni. Counselor Kenney’s visit underscores the U.S. commitment to Myanmar’s democratic transition, the value of people-to-people exchanges, and the role of US businesses in supporting inclusive, broad-based economic growth, according to a statement from her department. (Courtesy of mizzima.com)
There is a fourth option on the Myitsone Dam
IN HIS column in the June 16 edition of Frontier, Sithu Aung Myint wrote that the Chinese Ambassador, Mr Hong Liang, with a delegation from China’s State Power Investment Cooperation, recently visited Kachin State to lobby for the resumption of work on the stalled Myitsone Dam.
The delegation apparently let the Kachin State government understand that Myanmar has three options regarding the project: 1) Cancel the project and be liable to pay US$800 million in compensation; 2) Resume work and earn $500 million a year in revenue when the dam is completed or; 3) Do nothing and pay $50 million in interest for as long as the project is suspended.
None of these options are attractive for either Myanmar or China. (Courtesy of frontiermyanmar.net)
The delegation apparently let the Kachin State government understand that Myanmar has three options regarding the project: 1) Cancel the project and be liable to pay US$800 million in compensation; 2) Resume work and earn $500 million a year in revenue when the dam is completed or; 3) Do nothing and pay $50 million in interest for as long as the project is suspended.
None of these options are attractive for either Myanmar or China. (Courtesy of frontiermyanmar.net)
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi: Falling star or beacon of hope
For nearly 30 years, Aung San Suu Kyi starred as arguably the world's most prominent and revered political prisoner, a courageous champion of human rights and democracy in her military-ruled nation.
As she completes her first 100 days in power, the Nobel Prize laureate's halo has all but vaporized on the global stage: Suu Kyi is being assailed for ignoring the plight of the oppressed Rohingya Muslims, failing to stop atrocities against other ethnic minorities and abetting moves to erase from collective memory the bloody history of the generals she replaced.
Some have even labelled her a "democratic dictator," an increasingly aloof one-person show who surrounds herself with close friends and loyalists without nurturing a vitally needed new generation of leaders. Gone are the days when the elegant hostess would charm visitors over informal teas and reduce hard-bitten reporters to voicing soft-ball questions. (Courtesy of bigstory.ap.org)
As she completes her first 100 days in power, the Nobel Prize laureate's halo has all but vaporized on the global stage: Suu Kyi is being assailed for ignoring the plight of the oppressed Rohingya Muslims, failing to stop atrocities against other ethnic minorities and abetting moves to erase from collective memory the bloody history of the generals she replaced.
Some have even labelled her a "democratic dictator," an increasingly aloof one-person show who surrounds herself with close friends and loyalists without nurturing a vitally needed new generation of leaders. Gone are the days when the elegant hostess would charm visitors over informal teas and reduce hard-bitten reporters to voicing soft-ball questions. (Courtesy of bigstory.ap.org)
Myanmar must wipe out religious violence to achieve development
Another mosque has been razed in Myanmar, the second in just over a week. The destruction has been blamed on rising Buddhist nationalism. That in itself is ironical. The intrinsic core of Buddhism is peace. The nation has been troubled by increasing incidents of rioting. The mosques that were destroyed were in Kachin and Bago, but Rakhine, where the minority Rohingya live, has seen senseless violence.
The government of Aung San Suu Kyi has stood a silent spectator as the rioting has intensified and the Rohingya have been increasingly targeted. The UN has expressed its concern, but little is being done to rein in this wave of Buddhist nationalism. This again is ironic because Suu Kyi, who has spent years in prison championing the cause of the oppressed, must understand the plight of the Rohingya and yet she has moved slowly to find a solution to their problems. The Rohingya are stateless, have no rights, and the Buddhists of Rakhine want to label them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. (Courtesy of gulfnews.com)
The government of Aung San Suu Kyi has stood a silent spectator as the rioting has intensified and the Rohingya have been increasingly targeted. The UN has expressed its concern, but little is being done to rein in this wave of Buddhist nationalism. This again is ironic because Suu Kyi, who has spent years in prison championing the cause of the oppressed, must understand the plight of the Rohingya and yet she has moved slowly to find a solution to their problems. The Rohingya are stateless, have no rights, and the Buddhists of Rakhine want to label them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. (Courtesy of gulfnews.com)
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