From Democratic Voice of Burma, May 10: The Burmese military regime held its national referendum in most of the country today, despite criticism from those who said it should be prioritising assistance for the victims of Cyclone Nargis. The junta… Read moreBurma referendum illegitimate: opposition
Burmese soldiers and riot police opened fire at Insein Prison in Rangoon, killing 36 and injuring 70, after 1,500 inmates there rioted the aftermath of the devastating cyclone Nargis, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPPB). The facility,… Read morePrison massacre in stricken Burma
Two small blasts hit Burma’s first city Rangoon April 20, damaging cars in the downtown area but causing no injuries. The blasts, the latest in a spate of similar incidents this year, come three weeks before a referendum on a… Read moreTerror blasts in Burma: tribal peoples push back?
Chanting “Allahu Akbar” and “Disband Ahmadiyya,” some 1,000 members of the Indonesian Muslim Forum (FUI) marched on the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta April 21 to demand President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issue a decree to ban the “deviant” Islamic sect. “We… Read moreIndonesian fundamentalists march against Ahmadiyya Islam
Indigenous and environmental activist Saw O Moo is reported killed in Burma's conflicted Karen State. According to the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN), Saw O Moo was killed in an ambush by Burmese army soldiers while returning home from a community meeting to help organize humanitarian aid for villagers displaced by renewed hostilities between the military and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). Saw O Moo was one of the most active local community leaders pushing for the creation of the Salween Peace Park, a proposed 5,400-square-kilometer protected area to be overseen by indigenous peoples. “We will never forget his dedication in the ongoing struggle to build peace and protect ancestral lands,” KESAN said in a statement. (Photo: Burma Link)
Mas Selamat Kastari, accused Singapore commander of the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah militant network, escaped from a detention center in the Southeast Asian city-state Feb. 27. Kastari allegedly oversaw plans seven years ago to attack Singapore targets including the US Embassy,… Read moreJihadi jailbreak in Singapore
UN armored vehicles patrol East Timor’s capital Dili under a state of emergency following an attack that critically wounded the President José Ramos-Horta Feb. 11. Ramos-Horta, who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize (with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo), was… Read moreEmergency rule in East Timor
From the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN), Jan. 28: Accountability for Suharto’s Crimes Must Not Die With Him Indonesia’s former dictator General Suharto has died in bed and not in jail, escaping justice for his numerous crimes in… Read moreSuharto’s death to betray historical memory?
Burma's Rakhine state is being militarized at an alarming pace, as authorities build security force bases on lands where Rohingya villages were burned to the ground just months ago, Amnesty International charges in a new report. The chief UN official investigating human rights in Burma, Yanghee Lee, called for an immediate investigation into "clearance operations" in Rakhine state, stating she is increasingly convinced that actions by the Burmese security forces amount to genocide. (Photo: VOA via Wikimedia Commons)
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour said that the "ethnic cleansing of Rohingya from Myanmar continues," after a four-day visit to Bangladesh. During his visit, he focused on the situation of thousands of refugees who have fled from Burma (Myanmar). Recently-arrived Rohingya gave credible accounts of continued violence against their people, including killings, rape, and forced starvation, Gilmour reported. Burma has been saying that it is ready to receive returning Rohingya refugees, but Gilmour maintains that safe returns are impossible under current conditions. (Photo: EU/ECHO via Flickr)
