Tag: Myanmar

Myanmar Shifts Suu Kyi Trial to Jail Venue

The military junta in Burma (also known as Myanmar) has ordered all legal proceedings against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be moved from a courtroom to a prison, a source familiar with her cases says. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who turned 77 on Sunday, has been charged with at least…


Cambodia Invites Burmese Junta’s Defense Minister to ASEAN Summit

Cambodia has invited the Burmese junta’s defense minister to the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, despite the pleas of hundreds of human rights groups to bar him from attending due to the junta’s atrocities against civilians. General Nem Sowath, director-general of Cambodia’s General Department of Policy and Foreign Affairs at the Defense Ministry, said on…


UN ‘Deeply Troubled’ by Burmese Military’s Decision to Execute Democracy Activists

The Burmese military said on Friday that it would proceed with the execution of two pro-democracy activists convicted of treason and terrorism, drawing outcry from human rights groups. Veteran democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu, as well as Phyo Zeyar Thaw, a former lawmaker from the National League for Democracy (NLD) party led by deposed Aung…


Boat Carrying Rohingya Fleeing Myanmar Capsizes, Killing 16

BANGKOK—At least 16 people from Myanmar’s Rohingya minority have died after a storm capsized the boat they were traveling on to seek refuge in another country, officials and a recovery team member said Tuesday. There were 35 survivors of Saturday’s accident that took place Saturday off Myanmar’s southwestern coast and four people were missing, the…


Burma’s Military Pardons 1,600 Prisoners for Buddhist New Year, But No Political Prisoners

The Burmese military junta released more than 1,600 prisoners on Sunday in an amnesty to “bring joy” to the country’s new year holiday, but political prisoners were not among those released, according to reports. Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe, a state secretary of the junta, said that a total of 1,619 prisoners, including 42 detained…


Burmese Military ‘Special Command’ Authorized Killing Civilians Using Snipers: Report

The Burmese military junta issued a “special command” authorizing the deployment of troops in civilian-populated cities, and the use of snipers to intimidate and kill civilians, according to a report released on March 24. The report, published by human rights group Fortify Rights and Yale Law School’s Schell Center, stated that senior general Min Aung…


Burmese Military Says US Rohingya Genocide Declaration ‘Politically Motivated’

Burma’s military junta said Tuesday that it “vehemently rejects” the United States’ declaration that the military committed genocide against the Rohingya minority, claiming that the declaration was “politically motivated.” The Ministry of Information said in a statement that the Min Aung Hlaing-led military harbored no genocidal intent to destroy any minority groups and denied that…


Burma’s Junta Committed Genocide Against Rohingya, US Declares

The United States has formally determined that the Burmese military committed genocide against the Rohingya in a “widespread and systematic” manner, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday. Blinken said in a speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum that “beyond the Holocaust, the United States has concluded that genocide was committed seven times.” “Today…


UN Calls for ‘Immediate Measures’ to Stop Burmese Army’s ‘Crimes Against Humanity’

The United Nations on Tuesday urged the international community to take “immediate measures” to stop the Burmese military junta’s systematic human rights violations, which it said amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The military junta has shown “a flagrant disregard for human life” by launching airstrikes on populated areas and deliberately targeting civilians,…


Burma Junta Strips Shadow Gov Members, Activists of Citizenship

The Burmese junta has revoked the citizenship of 11 opposition members and activists who have reportedly fled the country, the military regime’s Information Ministry said on Saturday. The citizenship termination targeted three Burmese activists and eight members of the National Unity Government (NUG), a parallel government formed in April last year by ousted lawmakers and…