Posts Tagged ‘Burma’
July 28th, 2010
On 14 July, 87-year-old Burmese author Nan Nyunt Swe died — but his son Zarganar, one of the country’s most popular comedians, was unable to attend his funeral, and may not even have been informed of his death. Zarganar is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence for criticising the government¹s handling of the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. Not only that, but since 2008 he has been held in a prison so far from his home that it effectively cut him off from contact with his family. Just last month the authorities felt it necessary to forbid his family from travelling the 1500 km to visit him.
(more…)
June 18th, 2010
Burmese pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi marks her 65th birthday today, under house arrest in Rangoon. Here, we republish an article she wrote in honour of her father Aung San, which first appeared in the January 1992 edition of Index on Censorship magazine.
Read “Freedom from fear” here
April 29th, 2010
Supported by Index on Censorship, campaigners from across the UK and abroad are to converge on London’s Trafalgar Square on 3 May in support of Zarganar, Burma’s most famous comedian turned prisoner of conscience.
(more…)
April 22nd, 2010
Journalist and artist,
Maung Zeya, and his son were arrested in Burma on 17 April. Its believed they are being held for taking photos of the sites where last weeks deadly bombings occurred near Rangoon. Zeya’s son took photos of three locations where bombs would explode two days later. The Burmese authorities have blamed the attacks on opposition groups. At least
nine people died in the bombings during the water festival celebrating the Lunar New Year and another 75 were wounded.
March 15th, 2010
Reporters Without Borders has named Burma, China, North Korea and Vietnam as among the worst violators of freedom of expression on the internet. The
Enemies of the Internet 2010 report claimed that governments in these countries are either preventing citizens from accessing the web or developing increasingly sophisticated filtering techniques.
March 10th, 2010
Burma’s junta has set out laws governing the general election promised later this year, the new rules underline fears the vote is intended to consolidate military power under a
democratic façade. The country’s state-run newspapers today published the election commission law, the first of five pieces of legislation which were formally passed on Monday. Under its terms, the military Government will appoint a five-person commission responsible for supervising the election, ensuring it keeps control over proceedings. “This demonstrates that the generals will dominate the entire process,” said Mark Farmaner of
Burma Campaign UK. “If this election were a football match the generals would be playing in both teams, as well as being the referee.” No date has been announced for the election, and it seems unlikely that the junta will meet the condition that major Western governments regard as the minimum for a fair election – the release from custody of democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
February 15th, 2010
Burma’s junta has released the co-founder of the National League for Democracy,
Tin Oo after nearly seven years in detention. Tin, who established the League with Aung San Suu Kyi, has been granted freedom shortly before a UN envoy is due to visit Burma to evaluate the regime’s progress on human rights. His release has prompted hopes that Aung San Suu Kyi will also be free.
February 9th, 2010
A court in Myanmar is scheduled to announce a verdict on imprisoned dissident
Nyi Nyi Aung (Kyaw Zaw Lwin) on Wednesday. Aung spent years campaigning for Burmese democracy in exile before obtaining American citizenship. Upon a return visit, he was imprisoned and is charged with forgery, possession of undeclared foreign currency and failure to renounce his Myanmar citizenship. In December, 53 members of Congress sent a letter to Myanmar’s leader, Than Shwe, seeking Aung’s immediate release and calling his detention and trial “inconsistent with both Burmese and international law.”
Aung could face 12 years in prison. “Activists are frustrated by the lack of noise from the U.S. government when he is a U.S. citizen,” said Elaine Pearson, the deputy Asia director at
Human Rights Watch.
