Zarganar Blog, Human rights in Burma

Zarganar is the most famous artist of Burma, and a former political prisoner.

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POLITICAL & social life in Burma

© Amnesty International France

Allow children to learn in their native tongue ?

More than 200 ethnic Shan delegates attended a seminar to discuss how to develop Shan language curricula at government schools in Shan State. With more than six million people, the Shan are the largest ethnic minority in Burma. Their language is

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Working like slaves on Thai boats

Eighteen Burmese migrants forced to work as slaves on a Thai fishing boat were rescued by the Thai police’s Anti-Human Trafficking Division on 22 July. Two teenagers were among the trafficking victims. Some of them came to Thailand looking for jobs

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Farmers Work to Win Back Seized Land

Farmers from four townships whose land has been confiscated say they will go and work their old fields for three days this week in a bid to win them back. Around 300 acres have reportedly been grabbed by either private companies or the Burmese state.

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Trafficking in Persons US Gov. Report 2012

Burma is a source country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labor and for women and children subjected to sex traficking in other countries. Many Burmese men, women, and children who migrate for work in Thailand, Malaysia,

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"It's like the Chinese dance of the dragon"

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) says investment in social infrastructure will be crucial. Aung San Suu Kyi herself has declared that the country needs schools, health centres and an adequate water supply. “Personally, I find the

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Confiscation of agricultural land and homes

The convergence of military, business and government interests aimed at displacing farmers and residents from their homes poses grave dangers for Burma, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) said in a new report. Almost daily, news media carry

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China complains about drugs from Burma

China says the area used to grow poppies in northern Burma increased by 41 % in 2011, according to satellite monitoring. They expanded from 31,700 hectares in 2011 to around 44,866 hectares this year, Xinhua said. China said has also seen more

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The building of Htee Ler Klay dam continues despite villagers opposition

Villagers who will be evicted from their homes in the east of Tavoy to make way for a Chinese company’s dam construction claim the Burma government and the Karen National Union (KNU) have ignored their pleas to stop the construction. “The building of

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Energy sector : corruption and violence for local residents

According to official statistics, natural gas exports are the biggest foreign income earner for Burma, amounting to over US $2 billion in sales per year since 2006. The Arakan Oil Watch report states that billions of dollars in revenues from the sale

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2,300 villagers have signed a petition

More than 2,300 villagers have signed a petition against the construction of a hydropower dam on the river outside their village in Tenasserim Division. The villagers are protesting that the dam will flood their fields. The site for the dam project

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No power supply to NLD supporters

On Feb. 23, the residents of Aung Chan Tha village were informed by local authorities that anyone who went to the NLD campaign rally would be struck off a list of households awaiting electricity. The village currently has no power, and a private fund

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Tanhpre villagers have been ordered not to return

The Myitsone Dam project in Kachin State has been suspended, but Tanhpre villagers who were forced to relocate have been ordered to sign a pledge not to return to their villages A resident said, “The district head came and held a meeting. He said

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Migrant women on the Chinese border face abuse

A growing number of Burmese migrant women on the Chinese border face abuse, including workplace discrimination, violence and sexual exploitation, according to new research by the Burma Women’s Union (BWO). Women workers are particularly vulnerable

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Strike at a Chinese-owned shoe factory

More than a thousand workers at a Chinese-owned shoe factory in Rangoon went on strike on Monday after they discovered that they would not be paid for an enforced five-day break to mark the Chinese New Year. “We are trying to find the best solution

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Land Act : Members of Parliament have business interests

Pho Phyu had already been to jail twice. However, this did not deter the lawyer from joining with farmers in October in staging an unprecedented protest against a new draft Land Act that is currently awaiting approval—one of two cases pending against

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Freedom...for business interests?

Khin Nyunt was among a number of high-profile prisoners released in a far-reaching amnesty on 13 January – the former premier and head of Burma’s feared intelligence body was purged in 2004 after falling foul of then-junta chief Than Shwe and handed

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100,000 people face starvation

Up to 100,000 people in one of Burma’s poorest regions face starvation after renewed food shortages triggered by a bad harvest, a report due for release this week warns. “Many villagers face two options: either to migrate elsewhere in search of

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HRW annual report

Ethnic conflict escalated in 2011 as longstanding ceasefires with ethnic armed groups broke down in northern Burma. The Burmese military continues to be responsible for abuses against civilians in conflict areas, including forced labor, extrajudicial

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Abbot agreed not to return to his monastery

Ashin Pyinya Thiha, abbot at the Thardu monastery, has agreed not to return to the Rangoon monastery from which he was evicted by authorities this month. He was described by Burma’s government-backed monastic body as “disobedient” after he spoke at

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NGO report concerning child abuse

From May to October 2011, a total of 179 child abuse cases were found in Ye and Yephyu townships, of which 114 were child labour cases and 52 were child soldier cases, according to a survey. The area is near the Dawei deep-sea port special economic

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