Last month, media freedom advocates praised the surprise release of two Reuters reporters in Myanmar but stressed the pair should never have been jailed in the first place.
The military in Myanmar, also known as the Tatmadaw, is guaranteed 25 percent of parliamentary seats under the country’s constitution. If the National League of Democracy (NLD) - the party under Aung San Suu Kyi that won the general elections in 2015 - wants to implement any constitutional changes, it would need more than a 75 percent majority.
When Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League of Democracy (NLD) party won the general elections in 2015, a new wave of hope swept Myanmar. Previously under a military junta for almost 50 years from 1962 to 2011, Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi and her cohort represented the change the country so badly needed; a shift from military dictatorship to a functioning democracy.Throughout the election campaign, Suu Kyi and the NLD promised bold political reforms that would transform the country.
Myanmar's military Saturday said they would thwart any attempts by leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party to alter the "essence" of the country's controversial constitution, putting the army and civilian administration on a collision course over the politically-charged issue.Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) dominated the 2015 elections ending decades of military-backed rule.But because of a 2008 charter scripted by the military, the NLD was forced into an u
In northern Rakhine state, the refugee crisis is not the only worry on the minds of the Myanmar government. On 4 January, also Independence Day in Myanmar, Arakan Army militants killed 13 people and wounded nine others in Rakhine. According to local reports, the insurgents attacked four police posts in the Buthidaung area. The attacks by the Arakan Army reveals a deeply divided state, which has been marred by various other ethnic conflicts.
Myanmar has called on its military to "launch operations" against ethnic Rakhine rebels behind a deadly attack on four police stations last week, a government spokesman said Monday, as a surge of violence forces thousands more from their homes.The country's troubled western Rakhine state has seen a series of clashes in recent weeks between security forces and the Arakan Army (AA), an armed group calling for more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhist population.T
The military in Myanmar, also known as the Tatmadaw, recently threatened legal action against media organisations found to have reported unverified stories involving security issues and armed conflicts.
Myanmar's military announced Friday it would suspend "all military movements" in the troubled northern and eastern regions for four months, an unprecedented step that observers say could coax ethnic rebel groups into the country's fractious peace process.Conflicts have been festering in the border areas since independence from Britain 70 years ago, with various armed groups fighting for autonomy, identity, resources and territory.Tens of thousands of people living within t
The heat on the government of Myanmar and the Tatmadaw is growing. After strong international pressure and condemnation of the country due to its actions against the Rohingya Muslims, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is finally stepping in. On 18 September, the ICC’s prosecutor opened a preliminary probe into Myanmar’s alleged crimes against the Rohingya.
Myanmar is currently in crisis.
For the first time, the United Nations (UN) have officially called for top Myanmar military officials to “be investigated and prosecuted” for genocide of the Rohingya people in the northern Rakhine state as well as for crimes against humanity and war crimes under international law.
Last week, Myanmar seemingly made steps towards being accountable for the Rohingya crisis that has been ongoing for the past year. The country established a new Commission of Inquiry to investigate allegations of human rights abuses in the Rakhine state. This move is a long time coming as criticism of the government’s inaction in the crisis has been growing. The Commission of Inquiry will comprise of four people – two Burmese and two international members.
