By FELIZ SOLOMON 12 June 2014 Following the Burmese government’s invitation for public opinion on a proposed Religious Conversion Law, 81 organisations from Burma and elsewhere have recommended that it be completely discarded. In a joint statement published on Thursday, the alliance said the legislation violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by granting authorities

By DENE-HERN CHEN AND FELIZ SOLOMON 12 June 2014    An alliance of civil society organisations on Wednesday urged the Burmese and Indian governments to be more transparent in the planning and construction of the controversial Kaladan Project, a combined highway and waterway project that will traverse Arakan and Chin states into India. Proposed by

By SAMANTHA MICHAELS / THE IRRAWADDY| Thursday, June 12, 2014 | RANGOON — Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met with members of civil society groups in Naypyidaw to discuss their concerns with a package of four bills to “protect race and religion.” Lawmakers from Parliament’s Rule of Law Committee, chaired by Suu Kyi,

June 12, 2014 By MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has voiced serious concerns about proposals to criminalize interfaith marriage in Myanmar, while rights groups warned Thursday that passage of such discriminatory legislation could spark more violence against Muslims. Nationalist Buddhist monks are pushing legislation to “protect and preserve race and

Written by Mizzima More than 80 civil society groups throughout the world have called on the Myanmar government to scrap a proposed law on religious conversion, warning that if adopted it would violate fundamental human rights and could lead to further communal violence. The call, in a statement issued on behalf of the 81 groups

April 12, 2014, Karen News             Chin refugees in India fleeing persecution in Burma are left to fend for themselves as the UNHCR and local organisations tasked with protecting them fall prey to a “culture of denial and victim-blaming,” says the Chin Human Rights Organisation. The Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO), a

Bill O’Toole  |  Monday, 07 April 2014  |  The Myanmar Times Criticism of Myanmar’s census hit fever pitch last week when residents of Rakhine State were not allowed to self-identify according to their wishes, with even the United Nations appearing to turn on the government for its apparent back-flip. But experts say the census was

BBC Burmese, April 4, 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/burmese/multimedia/2014/04/140403_women_peace.shtml