Free at last, free at last; thank Buddha almighty we're free at last... In surprise amnesty, Myanmar releases high-profile political prisoners January 13, 2012 - Myanmar freed hundreds of political prisoners Friday in an amnesty that could pressure the West to lift sanctions as one of the world's most reclusive states opens up.
Good ol' Mitch got `em onna right track... Myanmar president commits to reform Sat, Jan 21, 2012 - POINT OF NO RETURN: Thein Sein urged the West to lift sanctions against Myanmar, while the US and the EU said they would observe how the April elections turn out
Democratic change in Burma may lead to sanctions being lifted... US Senators Signal Conditional Support for Lifting Burma Sanctions January 21, 2012 - The United States is ready to lift economic sanctions against Burma if the countrys civilian government presses ahead on political reforms including free and fair elections this April.
Human rights improving in Burma... Human rights condition improving in Myanmar: UN envoy Sunday 5th February, 2012 - The human rights situation was improving in Myanmar but serious challenges still remained and needed to be addressed, UN special envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana has said.
Recent reforms towards democracy in Myanmar... Myanmar's about-face: 5 recent reforms Since 1962, Myanmar's dictatorship has jailed the opposition, beat up monks, denied aid to disaster victims, and run scorched-earth campaigns against ethnic minorities. That may be changing, however. Here are five key changes the regime has made in just a matter of months: See also: Aung San Suu Kyi hits the campaign trail in Myanmar February 7, 2012 - Crowds of supporters enthusiastically greeted Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, some up since dawn to catch a glimpse of her on her first official campaign trip. Related: Censors lighten their touch on Myanmar's media February 7, 2012 - Myanmar's press has long been heavily restricted. But as the government promotes reforms, articles about just-released political prisoners and upcoming elections are getting into print.
Burma listening to the voice of the people... Myanmar lifts rally ban after Suu Kyi's party complains Mon Feb 20, 2012 - Myanmar's election authorities Monday said a ministerial order restricting some campaign rallies had been lifted, just hours after Aung San Suu Kyi's party complained its campaigning for upcoming parliamentary by-elections was being stifled.
Upcoming elections keep Burma in suspense... Waiting to Exhale in Myanmar March 29, 2012, — The last time Burma held an election that was anything close to being fair, the military didn’t care for the results and tossed them aside, as if the whole thing had never happened. The generals went about their jackboot business, cozied up to China and kept the main opposition leader under arrest for most of the next two decades. It was North Korea Lite. See also: EU praises Myanmar over political reforms Thursday 29th March, 2012 - The European Union (EU) has praised the Myanmar government for "remarkable programme of political reform" in the country over the last year.
Aung Suu Kyi wins election... Opposition claims Burma's Suu Kyi wins parliamentary seat 31 Mar.`12 Supporters of Burma's opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi erupted in euphoric cheers Sunday after her party said she won a parliamentary seat in a landmark election, setting the stage for her to take public office for the first time.
56 Killed, 2000 Homes Torched In Myanmar... Myanmar official says 56 dead, almost 2,000 houses torched in latest ethnic violence October 25, 2012 At least 56 people were killed and nearly 2,000 homes destroyed in the latest outbreak of ethnic violence in western Myanmar, a government official said Thursday. See also: UN Concerned About Outbreak of Violence in Western Burma October 25, 2012 - The United Nations has expressed concern about the most recent outbreak of communal violence in five townships in Burma's Northern Rakhine region.
This is no cause for celebration. In fact, it's the beginning of real and big trouble. When one vote means one voice, and the majority speak with the same voice, to whom should the government listen? To whom will the candidates depend on support to win the elections? Following are excerpts from the article headlined "Rohingya: not welcome on either side" at http://www.thestateless.com/2012/06/rohingya-not-welcome-on-either-side.html (Begin excerpts) ....Supporters of the military and the democracy movement have one thing in common: hate for the ethnic minority. Even as Aung San Suu Kyi is on her tour through Europe, receiving praise for her role in the fight against oppression and violence, a popular Myanmar actress has called out on Facebook to not relent in hatred for Rohingyas. "I hate them 100 percent," the actress writes. Hundreds of people belonging to Myanmar's Buddhist majority population have been meeting in the city Yangon over the past few days to vent their racist and sectarian hatred for the Muslim minority "Rohingyas out of Myanmar!" they call. Some people refer to them as terrorists, and state media now only speaks of "Bengali Muslims.".... (End excerpts) Burma: Monks protest OIC move http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/50879ed37a.html
Reedak wrote: Hundreds of people belonging to Myanmar's Buddhist majority population have been meeting in the city Yangon over the past few days to vent their racist and sectarian hatred for the Muslim minority Mebbe dey don't want the Muslim terrorism that other countries have suffered in their country... ... ever think of that?... ... the suicide bombers ya hear about... ... are they usually Buddhist or Muslim?... ... Sounds like the Muslims are encroaching... ... where they're not welcome, much like Europe.
First, a correction. I didn't write the above statement. It was taken from the article headlined "Rohingya: not welcome on either side" at http://www.thestateless.com/2012/06/rohingya-not-welcome-on-either-side.html As a Chinese saying goes, "A bystander observes clearer than the participants in any event". As a neutral observer, I am glad to air my opinions on the events in Myanmar. I see a parallel situation in the clashes between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and the conflict between Palestinians and Jews in Palestine. The Rohingya problem can last as long as the conflict in Palestine. At present there are sectarian clashes, but in the future there may be insurgency like those in Thailand and the southern Philippines. THAILAND: Muslims behead a 9-year-old boy http://www.barenakedislam.com/2011/...head-a-9-year-old-boy-warning-graphic-images/ South Thailand insurgency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Thailand_insurgency Terrorism in the Philippines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_the_Philippines The Europeans have to pray very hard that sectarian violence and insurgency will not take place on their soils.
The Muslim Rohingya originate in Bengal. Their ancestors were brought to Burma by the British as laborers.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge of Rohingya history. After the fall of the British Empire, the British left for home with whatever they could carry in their luggage, leaving behind unsolvable problems to their former subjects. In my opinion, there are some similarities between Rakhine and Palestine. The following article “Rohingya people” claimed that “early evidence of Bengali Muslim settlements in Arakan date back to the time of King Narameikhla (1430–1434) of the Kingdom of Mrauk U.” It said that "the Mohammedans, who have long settled in Arakan, call themselves Rooinga, or natives of Arakan.” It added that British policy encouraged Bengali inhabitants from adjacent regions to migrate into the then lightly populated and fertile valleys of Arakan as agriculturalists. Excerpts from the article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_people. (Begin excerpts) Muslim settlements have existed in Arakan since the arrival of Arabs there in the 8th century CE. The direct descendants of Arab settlers are believed to live in central Arakan near Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw townships, rather than the Mayu frontier area, the present day area where a majority of Rohingya are populated, near Chittagong Division, Bangladesh. Early evidence of Bengali Muslim settlements in Arakan date back to the time of King Narameikhla (1430–1434) of the Kingdom of Mrauk U. After 24 years of exile in Bengal, he regained control of the Arakanese throne in 1430 with military assistance from the Sultanate of Bengal. The Bengalis who came with him formed their own settlements in the region. Narameikhla ceded some territory to the Sultan of Bengal and recognized his sovereignty over the areas. In recognition of his kingdom's vassal status, the kings of Arakan received Islamic titles and used the Bengali Islamic coinage within the kingdom. Narameikhla minted his own coins with Burmese characters on one side and Persian characters on the other....... Following the Burmese conquest of Arakan in 1785, as many as 35,000 Arakanese people fled to the neighbouring Chittagong region of British Bengal in 1799 to avoid Burmese persecution and seek protection from British India. The Burmese rulers executed thousands of Arakanese men and deported a considerable portion of the Arakanese population to central Burma, leaving Arakan as a scarcely populated area by the time the British occupied it. According to an article on the "Burma Empire" published by the British Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1799, "the Mohammedans, who have long settled in Arakan," "call themselves Rooinga, or natives of Arakan.” British policy encouraged Bengali inhabitants from adjacent regions to migrate into the then lightly populated and fertile valleys of Arakan as agriculturalists. The East India Company extended the Bengal administration to Arakan, thus there was no international boundary between Bengal and Arakan, and no restrictions on migration between the regions. In the early 19th century, thousands of Bengalis from the Chittagong region settled in Arakan seeking work. In addition, thousands of Rakhine people from Arakan also settled in Bengal. The British census of 1891 reported 58,255 Muslims in Arakan. By 1911, the Muslim population had increased to 178,647. The waves of migration were primarily due to the requirement of cheap labor from British India to work in the paddy fields. Immigrants from Bengal, mainly from the Chittagong region, "moved en masse into western townships of Arakan". To be sure, Indian immigration to Burma was a nationwide phenomenon, not just restricted to Arakan. Historian Thant Myint-U writes: "At the beginning of the 20th century, Indians were arriving in Burma at the rate of no less than a quarter million per year. The numbers rose steadily until the peak year of 1927, immigration reached 480,000 people, with Rangoon exceeding New York City as the greatest immigration port in the world. This was out of a total population of only 13 million; it was equivalent to the United Kingdom today taking 2 million people a year." By then, in most of the largest cities in Burma, Rangoon (Yangon), Akyab (Sittwe), Bassein (Pathein), Moulmein, the Indian immigrants formed a majority of the population. The Burmese under the British rule felt helpless, and reacted with a "racism that combined feelings of superiority and fear."..... (End excerpts)
Reconn photos shows Muslim town destroyed... Burma's junta admits deadly attacks on Muslims Saturday 27 October 2012 - Satellite images show huge swath of coastal town destroyed in a wave of violence that has left dozens dead
Ethnic and religious tensions, particularly the Rohingya problem, are akin to brain tumours in Burma's democratic reforms. Like the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, the chances of finding a solution are terribly slim. Like it or not, the half century of military rule had acted as a powerful agent in suppressing ethnic and religious tensions. Once the problems rise to the surface, there is no turning back for the existing government. It has to proceed swiftly with the democratic reforms to pass the political hot potato to the next elected government, otherwise it could end up like the post-Tito government in the former Yugoslavia and risked being made a scapegoat of having committing ethnic cleansing and genocide.
Granny says dat lil' bitty Aung San Suu Kyi gonna help resolve copper mine protests in Myanmar... Security forces break up mine protest Fri, Nov 30, 2012 - MYANMAR CRACKDOWN: Twenty-seven monks and another person suffered burns caused by some sort of projectile. Protesters said police fired flare guns at them See also: Burma's Suu Kyi Offers to Mediate Mine Dispute November 29, 2012 - Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has offered to mediate a dispute involving villagers and monks opposed to the expansion of a Chinese-backed copper mine in the country's northwest.
Granny says she's a regular female Gandhi... Analysis: Myanmar's Suu Kyi shows pragmatism 1 Dec.`12 — For Aung San Suu Kyi the democracy activist, the 25-year struggle against Myanmar's former army rulers was a largely black-and-white affair — a clear fight for freedom against one of the world's most oppressive regimes.
Granny says, "You go gurl... Aung San Suu Kyi to head probe into mine Mon, Dec 03, 2012 - Myanmar’s government has appointed a commission led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to investigate the recent violent dispersal of peaceful protesters at a copper mine and advise whether the project should continue. See also: Myanmar riot police descend on copper mine protesters November 28, 2012 - Demonstrators in northwest Myanmar faced water cannons and tear gas on Thursday while protesting a copper mine expansion that will displace villagers. Protests over land disputes have become more common with the country's liberalization.
More freedom for Burmans... Myanmar abolishes 25-year ban on public gatherings Jan 29,`13 -- Myanmar's nearly 2-year-old reformist government has abolished a ban on public gatherings of more than five people that was ordered in 1988 on the day a military junta took power after crushing nationwide pro-democracy protests.
Buddhists handlin' the Muslim problem in Burma... UN: Myanmar Buddhists killed more than 40 Muslims January 24, 2014 The United Nations has confirmed that at least 48 Muslims appear to have been killed when Buddhist mobs attacked a village in an isolated corner of western Myanmar, violence that has been vehemently denied by the government since it was first reported by The Associated Press just over a week ago.
First Myanmar, then Cambodia... Myanmar's parliament opens after decades of military rule Feb. 1, 2016 --With the party of Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi in power, a transition from military rule is expected to be fast. Myanmar Elections Seen as Model for Cambodia February 01, 2016 As Cambodia ramps up for local elections in 2017 and national elections the year after, experts say it should look to November's election in Myanmar also known as Burma to improve security and build confidence in voters.
Will Aung San Suu Kyi be Myanmar's next president?... In Myanmar, Rumors Swirl of Possible Aung San Suu Kyi Presidency February 08, 2016 There is growing speculation in Myanmar that long time opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi could become the countrys next president, following an announcement that nominations for the office wont be revealed until the middle of next month (March 17).
