MOULMEIN — Burma’s ethnic minorities will not attempt to secede from the union if granted equal rights, according to the ethnic Mon pro-democracy leader Min Ko Naing, who spoke during a landmark Mon peace conference over the weekend. Min Ko Naing, who was born in Mudon Township, Mon State, made t...

Nine out of 10 refugees on the Thai-Burma border would prefer to resettle in third countries or stay in Thailand instead of being repatriated to Burma, according to a recent survey by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. More than 120,000 refugees have been living outside Burma in camps on the ...

In his monthly radio address to the nation on 1 October, Burma’s President Thein Sein emphasised the current round of peace talks with ethnic groups, saying that the peace process was related to a long-term plan aimed at realizing national reconciliation. Thein Sein’s monthly speech was aired on ...

The head of Burma’s military met with members of the Karen armed resistance in the country’s capital to discuss how the ceasefire between the two could be progressed. The meeting is seen by ethnic leaders as a move by the government to acknowledge the Karen National Union (KNU) as a necessary com...

Advocacy groups claim government’s mining decision derailing country’s democratic progress. The Molo Women Mining Watch Network (MWMWN) and the Karenni Civil Society Network (KCSN) today strongly condemned the government of Burma’s decision to grant mining contracts inside Karenni State, an ongoing...

The Karen National Union (KNU) is ready to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement, according to one of its most prominent central executive committee members, Mahn Nyein Maung, who spoke to DVB in an interview on Monday. “The KNU is looking to find solutions to all political issues through a natio...

The Karen Department of Health and Welfare continues to push the Burma government to recognize its community health workers and to extend its health service. In its recent meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on 30 September, the Karen Department of Health and Welfare discussed with Dr. Thein Thein Htay, the d...

Myanmar’s government and the political wing of the country’s armed ethnic Kachin rebels resumed peace talks Tuesday, with Naypyidaw expressing optimism they would lead to a permanent cessation of hostilities resulting in an overall nationwide cease-fire and political dialogue with ethnic groups. ...

Myanmar's president pardoned 56 political prisoners Tuesday, an amnesty apparently timed to highlight the government's reforms ahead of a regional summit as well as important negotiations with a rebel group at home. President Thein Sein ordered the prisoners' release just ahead of a forum in Brun...

9 October 2013 – An independent United Nations human rights expert today welcomed the latest release of political prisoners in Myanmar, while also voicing concern over ongoing arrests of activists and conditions attached to arrests. A presidential amnesty decree on 8 October resulted in the relea...