Zarganar Blog, Human rights in Burma

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

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Tag : NGOs

"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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Rohingyas are the Roma of Asia

The 800,000-strong Rohingya are pariahs: they are stateless, and pejoratively called “Bengalis” by the Burmese, who consider them to be refugees from neighbouring Bangladesh. But those who have tried to flee by boat to Bangladesh, where they are

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Death of veteran journalist Ludu Sein Win

Man of letters, committed intellectual and prolific journalist, Sein Win worked tirelessly for the betterment of his fellow citizens. Neither the 13 years he spent in prison nor the partial paralysis he suffered as a result of a heart attack

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Apprenticeships : from Switzerland to Myanmar

The difficulty in graduating and the lack of qualified workers is slowing development in Myanmar. A Swiss association hopes to ease this problem by exporting the concept of apprenticeships to the southeast Asian country. This class has gathered on

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Media accused “enflaming the conflict” in Arakan.

A threat by Rangoon chief minister Myint Swe to prosecute news media that cover the current sectarian violence in the western state of Arakan in an irresponsible manner has highlighted the fragility of recent improvements in media freedom. Myint Swe

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Political prisoners: 471 confirmed ; 465 under verification

The number of political prisoners AAPP can confirm behind bars and the location of their prisons is now 471 ; 465 more are under the verification process. April witnessed a series of unprecedented visits by foreign leaders and diplomats, and an

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Les réfugiés birmans en Thailande, grands perdants

Encouragés par l'évolution positive du régime birman, les bailleurs de fonds des programmes humanitaires reviennent progressivement dans le pays, et délaissent en conséquence les ONG qui travaillent le long de la frontière thailandaise avec les

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Ongoing use of landmines

The ongoing use of landmines by the Burma Army and armed groups in Eastern Burma continues to threaten civilians according to a report released this week by the Karen Human Rights Group. The KHRG report – ‘Uncertain Ground’ – documents the period

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1ère GayPride en Birmanie

Des festivités – musique, théâtre, documentaires et débats – auront lieu pour célébrer la journée internationale contre les discriminations des homosexuels et des transgenres dans quatre villes du pays, dont Rangoun, selon Aung Myo Min, de l'Institut

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why IFEX members are sceptical

there are just as many signs that, in the words of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), "President Thein Sein's commitment to greater press freedom is still more rhetoric than reality." Here are five of them: i. The draft media law

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Cross-line NGOs in Kachin

Local NGOs in northern Myanmar with access to both sides of an ongoing conflict between government forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) are playing a key role in addressing the needs of thousands of displaced. The KIA has been fighting for

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Quatre religions ensemble pour une clinique

En Birmanie, les gens ne meurent pas de faim, mais le pays souffre de deux maux principaux : la faiblesse du système éducatif et des failles béantes dans le système de santé. Un « Groupe caritatif interreligieux », réunissant des bouddhistes, des

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AHRC calling for the release of religious leader

Asian Human Rights Commission is calling for the immediate release of religious leader Shin Nyarna. The monk was sentenced to 20 years in prison for ‘defiling the Buddhist religion’ after he criticised the country’s ruling officials for preventing

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HRW : Burma needs an independent judiciary

The problem in Burma today is not that judges are struggling to be independent against a heavy-handed regime, but rather that judges are part and parcel of decades of a military governing system. Judges routinely impose unjustified sentences in

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HRW : Reforms yet to reach Kachin State

The Burmese government has committed serious abuses and blocked humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of displaced civilians since June 2011, in fighting in Burma’s northern Kachin State, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Some

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Push for the formation of free labor unions

A committee set up on Sunday to push for the formation of free labor unions throughout the country. Unions can only walk out after winning approval from the Labor Federation under the new legislation. The body is yet to be formed as is seen by many

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Standing ovation for Zarganar in New York

Burmese comedian Zarganar received a standing ovation on Sunday night at Radio City Music Hall in New York when he joined a star-studded line-up in a fundraiser for Amnesty International. Known for his scything jokes about Burma's military generals,

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Change military culture of “recreational sadism”

Human Rights Watch called Thursday on Burma to provide outsiders access to its prisons and warned that a military culture of “recreational sadism” posed a stumbling block to nascent reforms. But David Scott Mathieson, the group’s senior researcher on

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Humanitarian concern about Kachin war refugees

Humanitarian workers in northern Burma have expressed deep concern about the health conditions of thousands of war refugees in Kachin State who have been displaced along the Sino-Burmese border for eight months. Aid workers said that preventable

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What if this evolution slows in the future, or stops?

Burma’s Nay Phone Latt is many things – a poet, a blogger, a political dissident. On January 13, he also became a free man. After four years behind bars, The newly liberated Latt is cautiously optimistic about his country’s future. Latt launched his

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