Zarganar Blog, Human rights in Burma

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

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Conflicts & refugees

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HRW : coordinated attacks on Muslims

Burmese officials, community leaders, and Buddhist monks organized and encouraged ethnic Arakanese backed by state security forces to conduct coordinated attacks on Muslim neighborhoods and villages in October 2012 to terrorize and forcibly relocate

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Religious clashes continued

Religious clashes continued to spread through Burma late on Monday night, as Muslim homes and businesses in two townships of Pegu division were ransacked by Buddhist mobs numbering in their hundreds. Earlier on Monday evening in another Pegu town,

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'Give us compensation for our lands or return them'

Almost 250 farmers in Pathein Township said the project to turn their farmlands into a luxury hotel complex abutting the picturesque Ngwe Saung beach was a “land grab.” The State Peace and Development Council seized the 101-hectare plot of land in

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Burmese forces in Kachin : continuing abuses ?

A Kachin rights group says Burmese forces are continuing to block humanitarian aid, use civilians for forced labor and reinforce military positions in the war-torn northern state. The Kachin Peace Network claims that three medical supply trucks of

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Kachin children express uncertainty

Dozens of children documented the lives of their families and friends, among more than 900 Kachin villagers who fled to the camp in June last year when fighting broke out in their communities. Organized by Insight Out!, an international group of

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300 Buddhists attacked a Muslim school near Rangoon

A local Burmese community has been left terrified after an angry mob of 300 Buddhists attacked a Muslim school and several businesses in a suburb outside Rangoon. It follows news that hundreds of Buddhist nationalists launched a violent assault on a

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Doctors Without Borders warned of a "humanitarian emergency"

Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders warned of a "humanitarian emergency" in strife-hit western Myanmar with tens of thousands of people unable to access urgently needed medical care. Its teams on the ground in Rakhine State faced

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Rohingya : a long history of discrimination

It is no coincidence that the current crisis in Rakhine State in Burma has taken place against the back-drop of Burma’s widely hailed, yet still fragile, democratic reform process, the beginnings of which were marked by the elections of 2010. The

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Constructing bunkers for protection from possible air attacks

Kachin people in Laiza township, where the headquarters of KIO/KIA is located, are now constructing air-raid shelters and bunkers for protection from the possible air attacks of government air force. Some civilians are also taking shelters in the

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Rakhine conflict : women and children suffer the most

Women and children suffer the most in the wake of Rakhine conflict, said the Rakhine Women’s Network in Sittwe. It said that security and health conditions in the state have not yet returned to normal. In addition, the conflict has made Rakhine women

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Sexual violence continues in Shan State

For decades, mothers and daughters in Burma’s border areas have lived on high alert. While ethnic rebels in their homelands fought bloody wars with government troops, women of all ages were vulnerable to human rights abuses, including rape and other

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Migrant Burmese in Thailand have to register

December 14 marks the deadline for migrant Burmese in Thailand to register at National Verification centers. Only migrants who have previously registered for the temporary ID card and migrant worker cards are eligible to register. Estimates vary

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Kachin future is in complete darkness

Skirmishes in Kachin State continue despite President Thein Sein’s order to the military to stop offensives on December 10 last year, affected residents noted. Confrontations between the military and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) have displaced

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“Nothing About Us Without Us”

“Nothing About Us Without Us” is a short sharp documentary filmed at refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border. It highlights refugees' concerns about a possible forced repatriation from the camps back into Burma. There are currently more than

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Buddhist leaders urging compassion to Muslims

Seventeen Buddhist leaders from around the world—plus His Excellency the Dalai Lama in absentia—have issued a statement urging Buddhists in Burma to show mutual respect and compassion to Muslims in Rakhine State. We are concerned about the growing

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Karenni and Mon parties agree not to use child soldiers

The Karenni National Progressive Party and the New Mon State Party have signed an agreement with Swiss NGO Geneva Call to stop using child soldiers, according to a report by the Phophtaw news agency. The two groups are the first armed non-state

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Video reportage : Rohingya forced into exile

They're one of the most persecuted minorities on earth. Descendants of Muslim merchants, the Rohingya settled in Burma centuries ago. But in 1982, a law took away their nationality as well as their rights to property, marriage and education. Now a

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UN Agency : 'the situation is still very, very volatile, it's very tense"

The security situation in Myanmar's Rakhine province is still tense after a recent wave of violence which began in October, the United Nations humanitarian agency said today, adding that more than 110,000 displaced people are in urgent need of food,

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Satellite imagery shows widespread destruction of Rohingya homes

New satellite imagery obtained by Human Rights Watch shows extensive destruction of homes and other property in a predominantly Rohingya Muslim area of the coastal town of Kyauk Pyu – one of several areas of new violence and displacement. Human

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Rohingya : 75000 ethnic group are displaced

As of 25 September, the government estimated some 72,000 from the (mainly Muslim) Rohingya ethnic group and almost 3,000 people from the (mainly Buddhist) Rakhine ethnic group are displaced in the region, They are staying in 40 camps and temporary

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