Thein Sein leaves door open for one more term, praises Suu Kyi

Friday, 28 September 2012 12:11 Mizzima News    Burma’s reforms are  “irreversible” and the country’s ethnic conflicts, including the Muslim Rohingya issue, will be resolved according to “international norms,” President Thein Sein told the 67th UN General Assembly in an address on Thursday. President Thein Sein addresses the UN General Assembly. UN Photo His speech was broadcast...

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Thein Sein: ‘We have to accept diversity’

Friday, 28 September 2012 12:32 Mizzima NewsPresident Thein Sein said that Burma has left behind its authoritarian government and must now revive a democratic culture, in a talk at the Asia Society headquarters in New York on Thursday. “I don't think there will be any reversal in the political transition,” Thein Sein said through a translator, according to an article on the group’s website. “The...

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Suu Kyi stresses importance of voting in Harvard, Yale speeches

Friday, 28 September 2012 12:51 Mizzima NewsBurma democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi recalled the task of educating Burmese citizens to be responsible members of a free society during a speech at Harvard University on Thursday. Aung San Suu Kyi, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, took questions from students at the Harvard Kennedy School. Photo: Harvard She said that following decades...

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Thailand, Burma agree to stronger coordination on Dawei project

Friday, 28 September 2012 13:08 Mizzima NewsThailand and Burma agreed to put together a high-level coordinating committee to speed up the Dawei deep-sea port project, following a meeting between Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Burma’s President Thein Sein on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York on Thursday. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra...

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US Burmese group opposes lifting of sanctions

Friday, 28 September 2012 13:28 Mizzima News    The US Campaign for Burma (USCB) said it is disappointed in the US decision to lift import sanctions on Burma.The situation in Burma does not justify the lifting of all sanctions, said the group. It said the government continues to be undermined by the Burmese military who continue to violate the terms of ethnic cease-fire agreements. Aung...

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Increase in arbitrary arrests in Burma: report

Friday, 28 September 2012 13:57 Mizzima News Burma continues to use arbitrary arrest as a tool to hold members of the democracy and human rights movement behind bars often without formal charges, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma said in a statement on Thursday.An “alarming increase” in the number of arbitrary arrests suggests that Burma has made no significant progress...

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Thein Sein invited to visit Brussels

Friday, 28 September 2012 14:41 Mizzima News Catherine Ashton, vice president of the European Commission, met with Burma’s President Thein Sein on the sidelines of the 67th UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday and invited him to visit Brussels soon. The EU has started the procedure to reinstate the General System of Trade Preferences that will help Burma to expand exports to the EU. Ashton has announced €150 million of additional funds in support of Burma’s ongoing reforms as well as projects in health and education....

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Text of Thein Sein’s UN speech

Friday, 28 September 2012 14:22 Mizzima News The following is the translated text of President Thein Sein’s speech to the 67th UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday:  President Thein Sein addresses the 67th United Nations General Assembly on September 27, 2012 Photo: President's office Mr. President, “First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you on your well-deserved election...

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Myanmar-US chamber of commerce formed

Friday, 28 September 2012 16:07 Mizzima NewsA Myanmar-US Chamber of Commerce has been formed to promote the business interests of both countries. William Su was elected president of an 11-member board during its first meeting in New York City.Board members include Su, chairman of the board, Dr. Kyaw Tun, Frank Ng, Vincent Wong, Kyaw Myaing, Dr. Jonathan Chang, Patrick Wang, Edward Wong, Tin Ohn, Htin Myaing and Simon Wong, according to press release issued on Friday.Su, a native of Burma and the current chairman of the board of the Myanmar Chinese...

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Lenders preparing loans, grants for Burma

Friday, 28 September 2012 16:16 Mizzima NewsUS$1 billion will be pledged in loans to Burma when the world’s major lenders meet in Tokyo next month, a report said on Thursday. The Japanese business daily Nikkei said international bodies were readying large-scale resumption of aid loans ahead of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting on the sidelines in Tokyo in early October. Japanese Finance...

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Thailand to finance road to Myawaddy

Friday, 28 September 2012 15:29 Mizzima News    Thailand will grant financial aid to build a 76-kilometre road from Mae Sot, Thailand, to Myawaddy-Kawkareik in Burma, to promote the area’s economy. Myawaddy is across the Moei River from Mae Sot, Thailand. The Friendship Bridge, in the background, connects Thailand and Burma. Photo: AFP The road would serve as a link from Thailand...

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2nd Myanmar Investment Summit starts Oct. 17

Friday, 28 September 2012 14:32 Mizzima News Coinciding with Burma extensive reforms, the 2nd New Myanmar Investment Summit will spotlight strategies and networking on Oct. 17-18 in Rangoon. Numerous global foreign corporate executives and regional businessmen, government officials and business expert will discuss sectors including mining, power and electricity, telecommunications, property,...

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US formally announces lifting of Burmese import ban

Thursday, 27 September 2012 12:09 Mizzima News The US announced on Tuesday it would lift its ban on Burmese imports as a reward for the former military dictatorship’s embrace of political and economic reforms. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the move in a meeting with Burma’s President Thein Sein on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, where Thein Sein will address...

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Kachin to hold US rally at UN headquarters

Thursday, 27 September 2012 12:30 Mizzima NewsKachin in the US will hold a rally in New York City to urge President Thein Sein to address the humanitarian crisis faced by the Kachin ethnic group and to seek UN intervention and assistance.The Kachin community in the US said it is deeply concerned that the civil war being waged in the Kachin region in northeast Burma along the Burma-Sino border has...

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Burmese ethnic delegation leaders travel to US

Thursday, 27 September 2012 12:51 Mizzima NewsA joint delegation of the ethnic United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) and the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) has arrived in the US to talk about Burma's ethnic peace processes with US and UN officials.The delegation will meet with Burma’s ethnic communities and UN and US officials, among others, to support sustainable peace for Burma’s...

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Kachin groups urge Suu Kyi to ‘speak out’

Thursday, 27 September 2012 13:06 Mizzima NewsReflecting disappointment in Aung San Suu Kyi’s statements on fighting in Kachin State, a group of 23 Kachin organizations have issued a public letter calling for her “to speak out about the abuses being committed against our people.”“If you were to speak out, the international community would listen, all the people of Burma regardless of ethnicity or...

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Rohingya group calls for world leaders’ help

Thursday, 27 September 2012 13:16 Mizzima News The Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (Brouk) has appealed to world leaders at the 67th UN General Assembly meeting in New York to put pressure on President Thein Sein following his proposal to remove all Rohingya people from Burma and place them in refugee camps or third countries. Rohingya refugee women stand by their homes in Cox's Bazaar District,...

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Suu Kyi set to speak at Harvard, Yale

Thursday, 27 September 2012 14:03 Mizzima NewsAung San Suu Kyi will speak at Harvard and Yale universities in the US on Thursday, following her private meeting with Burmese President Thein Sein earlier this week in New York City.Harvard, located in Boston, was organized in 1636 and is one of the US’s most prestigious universities. Yale, organized in 1701, is considered one of its strongest competitors, and is located in New Haven, Connecticut.Following her speeches, Suu Kyi will travel to San Francisco to speak to the Burmese community prior to...

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Burma cabinet reshuffle: the reform agenda

Thursday, 27 September 2012 13:27 Trevor Wilson(Commentary) – President Thein Sein reshuffled his cabinet on August 27, 2012, for the first time since the installation of his government on March 30, 2011. Trevor Wilson, a former Australian ambassador to Burma Photo: theconversation.edu.au Speculation about an imminent cabinet reshuffle had been heard for some months; the fact that it took so...

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An appeal for peace in Rakhine State

Thursday, 27 September 2012 13:52 Tun Khin (Commentary) – One thing that kept the military regimes in place in Burma for more than 60 years is the ability of the Burmese military to divide and rule. They have used divide and rule tactics between Burmans and ethnics, between Burmans and Burmans and between ethnics and ethnics. They have also used divide and rule tactics between Rohingya and Rakhine. Tun...

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Burmese Parliament will meet again on Oct. 18

Thursday, 27 September 2012 14:51 Mizzima NewsThe Burmese Parliament will convene its 5th session on Oct. 18 to take up the new Foreign Investment Law and media reform legislation, according to an announcement Wednesday on state-run media.In the last session, Parliament approved the nomination of Nyan Tun as a new vice president, the appointment of 11 new ministerial posts and a new auditor-general. The...

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South Korean, Burmese officials discuss Shwe gas project

Thursday, 27 September 2012 15:02 Mizzima NewsBurma and South Korean officials discussed the Shwe Natural Gas Project and other issues this week at the 6th Energy and Natural Resources Joint Implementation Committee meeting in Naypyitaw on Tuesday, official media said on Wednesday. Work underway in the Shwe gas field.  Photo: Shwe Gas Moon Jaedo, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Knowledge...

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Thein Sein’s China-US balancing act

Wednesday, 26 September 2012 12:30 Mizzima News    Burma’s President Thein Sein’s mission in New York City this week is to present the new face of Burma to a worldwide audience when he addresses the UN General Assembly on Thursday, stressing his government’s commitment to democracy. His goal is to open the door wide for development aid and the total lifting of all US sanctions against...

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Yingluck, Thein Sein to discuss Dawei in New York City

Wednesday, 26 September 2012 12:41 Mizzima NewsThai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Burma’s President Thein Sein will discuss the Dawei deep-sea port project in New York on the sidelines of the UN 67th General Assembly meeting on Thursday. Burmese President Thein Sein and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra review an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at Government House in Bangkok...

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Suu Kyi is midway through US tour

Wednesday, 26 September 2012 13:20 Mizzima NewsAung San Suu Kyi spoke to about 5,000 Burmese natives in the heart of the US on Tuesday in Fort Wayne, Ind., midway through her 17-day US tour. She delivered her speech in Burmese, which was translated into English via video.Her message was more personal, voicing hope for Burma’s national reconciliation after decades of brutal repression at the hands of successive military regimes.“The important thing is to learn how to resolve problems. How to face them and how to find the right answers through discussion...

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Dismantling a dictatorship Burmese style

Wednesday, 26 September 2012 13:33 Myat Thu Pan(Commentary) – To dismantle a dictatorship of half a century is a task far greater than resurrecting the Titanic.Since the November 2010 Burmese elections, the government of Burmese President Thein Sein has embarked on an amazing feat of salvaging the sunken ship called Burma. Burmese President Thein Sein. Photo: President's office In less than...

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