Yuzana to return confiscated farm land

Friday, 31 August 2012 13:04 Kyaw Phone Kyaw and Aung Myat TunRangoon (Mizzima) – Htay Myint, the owner of the Yuzana Company, says the company will give back more than 1,000 acres of confiscated land in the Hukaung Valley in Kachin State to the original owners, said activist Bauk Ja.Bauk Ja, who negotiated with Hyay Myint on Wednesday, said the land would be returned and negotiations would also...

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Former monk Gambira pens open letter on Arakan State

Friday, 31 August 2012 12:49 Mizzima NewsThe prominent Burmese Buddhist monk who helped lead the “Saffron Revolution,” Ashin Gambira – now known as Ko Nyi Nyi Lwin since he took off his robes –  has released a letter accusing the military of using the Arakan community unrest for its own purposes. Photo: Gambira Ko Ko Nyi Nyi Lwin is in poor health, since his release from prison in January...

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Burma appoints three new ministers in Cabinet reshuffle

Friday, 31 August 2012 13:17 Mizzima NewsThree new deputy ministers have been appointed as part of Burma’s Cabinet reshuffle this week, according to an order from the President's Office. Burmese President Thein Sein Photo: president's website Thant Kyaw and Zin Yaw was named deputy foreign ministers, while Dr. Maung Maung Thein, who is general manager of Myanma Insurance, was nominated as deputy...

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Township authorities to give funds to flooded farmers

Friday, 31 August 2012 13:26 Min Min Kangyidaung (Mizzima) – Thirty Kangyidaung Township authorities will give money and seeds to farmers whose 15,000 acres of spoiled paddy in Irrawaddy Region were flooded in August, an official at the Settlement and Land Records Department told Mizzima. “Now, [they are] developing plans. [They are] still collecting the data,” said Htay Yi. “It’s sure that [they...

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Prominent names removed from Burma’s ‘blacklist’

Friday, 31 August 2012 13:40 Mizzima NewsThe Burmese government has published a list of 1,000 foreigners who were stricken from its “blacklist” this week, revealing prominent diplomats, journalists and human rights activists. More than 4,000 blacklisted names remain on the list. President Official WebsiteAmong the names removed from the blacklist were former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright,...

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Returned exiled lawyer serving six-month prison sentence

Friday, 31 August 2012 13:54 Mizzima News An exiled defense lawyer who returned to Burma under the olive branch offered by the new government has been jailed for a previous sentence in absentia, and is now in Insein Prison. The lawyer, Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min, is a human rights defender and a former leading member of the National League for Democracy youth wing. It is the first sentencing of an returned exile for a previous offense and it shows that “when it comes to human rights, the government of Burma still cannot be trusted,” the Assistance Association...

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Modernity’s challenge to Burma: 1885 – present

Friday, 31 August 2012 14:21 Joseph Ball“You may say she was not a good queen, he was not a good king, but they were our own.” –   Maid of Honor to Burma’s Queen Supayalat and King Thibaw “A family with the wrong members in control – that is perhaps as near as one can come to describing England in a phrase.” –   George Orwell     (Book review) – The immediate...

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US says China should create ‘protection program’ for Kachin refugees

Friday, 31 August 2012 14:09 Mizzima NewsThe United States on Thursday criticized China following reports that it returned Kachin refugees to Burma despite ongoing fighting. “We indeed remain concerned about the welfare of vulnerable Kachin on the China-Burma border. We have urged China to implement a temporary protection program for those seeking refuge from the conflict,” said State Department...

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India donates relief funds to Rakhine State

Friday, 31 August 2012 15:12 Mizzima NewsThe Indian government has provided US$ 220,000 for aid and resettlement work in western Rakhine State, according to Indian media.The cash aid was handed over in a ceremony attended by Burmese Minister of Border Affairs and Industrial Development Lieutenant-General Thein Htay and Indian Ambassador Dr. V.S. Seshadri.The deadly unrest and violence in Rakhine State has claimed up to 89 people killed, 116 injured and over 65,000 people homeless or living in shelters, according to the latest official figures.A...

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Australia gives direct aid to Rakhine State homeless

Friday, 31 August 2012 15:05 Mizzima NewsAustralia will give US $1 million to Burma in emergency aid to provide clothing, blankets and basic supplies to around 14,000 people left homeless by sectarian conflicts in Rakhine State.Foreign Secretary Bob Carr said, “We're assisting with this emergency aid – helping with clothing, blankets and basics like mosquito nets, bedding and soap for 14,000 people...

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UN population fund director concludes visit to Burma

Friday, 31 August 2012 15:19 Mizzima NewsMeeting with reproductive health advocates and private sector leaders, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the executive director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, wrapped up a three-day visit to Burma on Wednesday.He met with participants in the Myanmar Medical Association’s Youth Development Programme and discussed their efforts to raise young people’s...

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Photo News - August 2012

A group led by Arifin Muh. Hadi, the head of disaster management of the Indonesian Red Cross, arrive at Sittway [Sittwe] airport, Rakhine State on Thursday, August 30, 2012. Photo Thein Hlaing / Mizzima Rakhine State government of Minister for Social Welfare and Health, Dr Aung Kyaw Min, and Arifin Muh. Hadi, head of disaster management of the Indonesian Red Cross, meet at the Sittway [Sittwe]...

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