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Title: International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies (ICBMS) 23-26 July, 2015
Description/subject: "Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges".....About 100 papers and more abstracts on the site - see "papers & abstracts" in the right-hand column.
Source/publisher: Chiangmai University
Date of publication: 2015-07-23
Date of entry/update: 2015-07-14
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: Asian Highway Project Undermines Peace in Karen State - Statement by the Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN)
Description/subject: "Outbreak of heavy fighting along the newly completed highway from Myawaddy to Kawkareik demonstrates how large-scale development, when implemented before a permanent ceasefire and political agreement, exacerbates conflict, undermines the peace process, and jeopardizes the safety of civilians. All parties must immediately halt hostilities, and resolve issues related to the highway through dialogue in the peace process..."
Source/publisher: Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN)
Date of publication: 2015-07-10
Date of entry/update: 2015-07-13
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: ?With only our voices, what can we do??: Land confiscation and local response in southeast Myanmar. - Texts, maps and video (English, Karen Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Description/subject: "Villagers in Karen areas of southeast Myanmar continue to face widespread land confiscation at the hands of a multiplicity of actors. Much of this can be attributed to the rapid expansion of domestic and international commercial interest and investment in southeast Myanmar since the January 2012 preliminary ceasefire between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Myanmar government. KHRG first documented this in a 2013 report entitled ?Losing Ground?, which documented cases of land confiscation between January 2011 and November 2012. This report, ?With only our voices, what can we do??, is a follow up to that analysis and highlights continued issue areas while identifying newly documented trends. The present analysis assesses land confiscation according to a number of different factors, including: land use type; geographic distribution across KHRG?s seven research areas; perpetrators involved; whether or not compensation and/or consultation occurred; and the effects that confiscation had on local villagers. This report also seeks to highlight local responses to land confiscation, emphasising the agency that individuals and communities in southeast Myanmar already possess and the obstacles that they face when attempting to protect their own human rights. By focusing on local perspectives and giving priority to villagers? voices, this report aims to provide local, national, and international actors with a resource that will allow them to base policy and programmatic decisions that will impact communities in southeast Myanmar more closely on the experiences and concerns of the people living there."..... Toungoo (Taw Oo) District... Hpa-an District... Dooplaya District... Hpapun (Mutraw) District... Mergui-Tavoy District... Thaton (Doo Tha Htoo) District... Nyaunglebin (Kler Lwee Htoo) District...
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication: 2015-06-30
Date of entry/update: 2015-07-10
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English, Karen and Burmese
Format : pdf pdf pdf pdf pdf pdf pdf
Size: 5 MB 5.54 MB 2.81 MB 2.75 MB 2.67 MB 613.66 KB 949.09 KB
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Title: Human Rights Council - 29th Session: Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar (text + video)
Description/subject: Full text of the resolution tabled by Pakistan for the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), adopted by consensus (without a vote), 3 July 2015. The Alternate URLs link to the webcast of the meetings.
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (A/HRC/29/L.30)
Date of publication: 2015-07-03
Date of entry/update: 2015-07-06
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 170.92 KB
Local URL: PDF icon HCR-29-L.30.pdf
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Title: Negotiations on draft Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) deadlocked
Description/subject: "In Myanmar, a summit of ethnic armed group leaders rejected the NCA text agreed in March, making it almost certain that the agreement will not be signed before the country goes to elections later this year. This makes it highly unlikely that there will be further progress on talks to end the decades-long conflict for the next twelve months, and increases the risk of armed conflict over the coming year. It also means more areas could be declared too insecure for elections to take place..."
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group (Crisiswatch No. 143)
Date of publication: 2015-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2015-07-02
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 53.8 KB
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Title: Burma/Myanmar Bibliographic Project: A Collection of Publications in West-European Languages for Preparation a Burma/Myanmar Bibliography
Description/subject: In 1974, the South Asia Institute in Heidelberg (SAI) was able to buy the Burma Collection of Professor Frank N. Trager, New York. Many of the items in this collection are listed in his own bibliography on Burma. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft sponsored the acquisition of this collection on condition that it be catalogued in order to make it available to the scientific community and for foreign loan. Over the years the catalogue of the Trager collection grew into a complete bibliography on Burma/Myanmar.
Source/publisher: University of Heidelberg
Date of publication: 2012-08-31
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-27
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English, Deutsch, German
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Title: Kachin Development Networking Group - KDNG (English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Description/subject: About KDNG : "Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) is a network of Kachin civil society groups and development organizations inside Kachin State and abroad. It was established in September 2004. KDNG promotes the formation of a healthy civil society based on equality and justice for local people. It works to document the military government?s exploitation of natural resources, collecting information on large scale development including mining, mono crop plantation and hydropower. It also works to promote an alternative to these destructive policies by working with local organizations and community members to assess the needs of villagers and develop local solutions to development problems. In all of this, the organization works to encourage the participation of women in development decisions and activities. Through these endeavors, KDNG hopes to contribute to the struggle for justice, social reform, and political change for the people of Kachin State and all of Burma"
Source/publisher: Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG)
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-26
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Title: Landesa - Rural Development Institute
Description/subject: "Securing land rights for the world?s poorest people"... MISSION: "Landesa works to secure land rights for the world?s poorest people? those 2.47 billion* chiefly rural people who live on less than two dollars a day. Landesa partners with developing country governments to design and implement laws, policies, and programs concerning land that provide opportunity, further economic growth, and promote social justice... VISION: We envision a world free of poverty. We see a future in which all who depend on land for their well-being have secure land rights ? one of the most basic, powerful resources for lifting oneself and one?s family out of poverty... WHY LAND RIGHTS MATTER: Three-quarters of the world?s poorest people live in rural areas where land is a key asset. Of those people, more than a billion lack legal rights over the land they use to survive, causing entrenched poverty cycles to persist over generations. Efforts to help one landless family at a time are important. But Landesa works to advance durable land rights to bring transformational changes on a large scale. Secure land rights help create stable foundation for other important development work ? like literacy, clean water, and nutrition ? to take hold for generations..."
Source/publisher: Landesa.org
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-26
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: Land‐based climate change mitigation, land grabbing and conflict: understanding intersections and linkages, exploring actions for change
Description/subject: Authors: Carol Hunsberger, Esteve Corbera, Saturnino M. Borras Jr., Romulo de la Rosa, Vuthy Eang, Jennifer C. Franco, Roman Herre, Sai Sam Kham, Clara Park, David Pred, Heng Sokheng, Max Spoor, Shwe Thein, Kyaw Thu, Ratha Thuon, Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, Kevin Woods and Courtney Work..... Abstract: "Recent research highlights the potential for climate change mitigation projects and large- scale land deals to produce conflicts over land and resources. However, this literature generally views climate change policies and land grabbing as separate processes, and focuses on discrete areas where displacement or contested claims occur. We argue that additional research strategies are needed to understand the social and ecological spill-over effects that take place within larger areas where land-based climate change projects (e.g. biofuel production, forest conservation, or hydroelectric projects) and large land-based investments (e.g. plantations or mines) are found. We propose adopting a landscape perspective to study intersections and complex interactions within and across social, ecological and institutional domains. By co-producing knowledge with local actors, building capacity with civil society groups, and informing advocacy that targets policy processes at multiple scales, we suggest that such research could contribute to preventing, resolving or transforming conflicts ? even in places where difficult political transitionLand ‐ based climate change mitigation, land grabbing and conflict: understanding intersections and linkages, exploring actions for changes are underway"..... Keywords: Conflict, climate change mitigation, land grab, resource conflict, green grab, biofuel, REDD+
Carol Hunsberger et al
Source/publisher: MOSAIC Research Project, International Institute of Social Studies, (Netherlands) RCSD, Chiangmai University)
Date of publication: 2015-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-26
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 221.9 KB
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Title: Land Acquisition Law and Practice in Myanmar
Description/subject: Executive Summary: "Land acquisition issues and resultant land disputes of various types are some of the most controversial, contentious and vexing issues at play in the evolving political and economic landscape of today?s Myanmar. Few issues are discussed more fervently and frequently than issues relating to the critical question of land; who owns it, who controls it, who may seek to acquire it, disputes over it, and who is to be potentially removed from it. Innumerable recent reports indicate three overarching trends concerning the scale of land acquisition in Myanmar: (1) Large tracts of land were compulsorily acquired and conceded during the past several decades of military rule that spanned 1962-2011; (2) Additional large tracts of land have been alienated since the present government took power in 2011; and (3) Yet further large tracts of land are currently threatened with confiscation in coming years.2 2. As the political reform process begins to slow in the run-up to the planned 2015 national elections, and as the economy continues to liberalize within a legal and regulatory environment which remains disproportionately skewed in favor of State and business interests, it is clear that law is incapable in its present form of adequately protecting the full spectrum of land-related rights of ordinary citizens and communities. In addition, land registration and record keeping remains extremely poor.3 This is particularly so given the fact that farmers threatened with displacement have only what are effectively user-rights.4 These circumstances in turn lays the groundwork for potential land disputes which can have significantly negative impacts on business activities. The land sphere is increasingly seen as one of the most visible sectors of society where a collusion of economic and political elites linked to the government, military and the corporate sector find a continuing source of power and control. Arguably, given their largely inequitable, top-down and non-transparent nature, these developments place deeper and longerterm democratic reforms at considerable risk, and rather than constituting a boost to overall economic performance in the country, in fact, may undermine economic, political and social progress in this regard. At the individual company level, the legal and political basis for land relations in Myanmar can pose the very real prospect of land disputes that may undermine investment opportunities...".....This entry also has a link to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards - not in the DS study.
Source/publisher: Displacement Solutions
Date of publication: 2015-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-21
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 300.92 KB
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Title: SECURING RIGHTS, COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE - How Strengthening Community Forest Rights Mitigates Climate Change
Description/subject: "...This report on community forest rights and climate change provides much-needed evidence at the global scale to demonstrate the tremendous potential for reducing emissions by strengthening communities? forest rights. It analyzes examples from 14 forest-rich countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia that include over two thirds of all government-recognized community forests in low- and middle-income countries. The report also presents recommendations for the international community of world leaders, government officials, advocates, and others who, if they are seriously committed to finding a far-reaching and concrete climate change solution, will call upon forested nations to strengthen community rights in their forests. For too long this approach to mitigating climate change has not received the attention it deserves. We hope this report will turn that around and draw the world?s focus to the most important factor in turning the tide against climate change and saving the world?s forests: the Indigenous Peoples and local communities who depend on them..."
Caleb Stevens, Robert Winterbottom, Jenny Springer, Katie Reytar
Source/publisher: World Resources Institute
Date of publication: 2014-07-31
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-19
Type: Individual Documents
Category: Mitigation
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 6.97 MB
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Title: FAO and partners? joint studies call for indigenous people?s rights for shifting cultivation in harmony with environmental sustainability
Description/subject: ?...Indigenous peoples with their different lifestyles and livelihoods related to their resource management systems are now gaining more attention in the face of climate change and food insecurity,” said Joan Carling Secretary-General of AIPP. ?Evidence-based studies, including this report on shifting cultivation, clearly demonstrate that indigenous peoples? sustainable livelihoods are actually not just conserving nature but are in fact enhancing biodiversity and providing food security for their communities. Their simple lifestyle has the least carbon footprint and their conservation measures even include carbon sequestration. It is thereby pertinent to review the negative regard and policies on indigenous peoples? livelihoods such as shifting cultivation, and recognise the invaluable contributions of indigenous peoples to conservation of nature, food security and solutions to climate change...”
Source/publisher: Asia Indigenous People?s Pact (AIPP)
Date of publication: 2015-06-17
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-19
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: Shifting Cultivation, Livelihood and Food Security - New and Old Challenges for Indigenous Peoples in Asia
Description/subject: "...FAO, AIPP and IWGIA jointly carried out case studies. A researcher, or a group of researchers, who is familiar with the selected indigenous community and its most important livelihood — shifting cultivation — prepared each country case study. Based on field studies, which included surveys, focal group discussions and individual interviews in indigenous communities and careful analysis of the collected information, the case studies provide in-depth insights into this important topic of livelihood and food security among selected shifting cultivator communities in Asia. The case studies, although set in different social, economic, political and environmental contexts of the seven countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal and Thailand), highlight that shifting cultivation continues to be an important livelihood system for the indigenous communities studied (except for the Tharu in Nepal who were forced to discontinue the practice after being resettled outside their ancestral land in a national park). The studies illustrate how shifting cultivation was and still remains a suitable and for some communities indispensible form of land use in upland areas in Asia, and that it can continue to be managed sustainably from the viewpoints of both natural resource management and household food security under conditions of sufficient and legally recognized access to land..... The summary recommendations of the Regional Multi-Stakeholder Consultation Workshop were as follows; (i) Strengthening policy advocacy at national, regional and global levels on land tenure, food security and livelihood based upon the principle of equal partnership between states and indigenous peoples and adherence to the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) of indigenous peoples in relation to protection of shifting cultivation, sustainable resource management and cultural integrity; (ii) Awareness raising on indigenous peoples? rights addressing consequences of industrial mono-cropping, large-scale land investments and plantations; capacity building on innovations especially for women and youth; and skills development for agroforestry. (iii) Biodiversity conservation and enhancement against bio-piracy, unfair and illegal patenting; (iv) Research and documentation on shifting cultivation and related studies; and (v) Support services, social protection and safety nets such as credit service, market support, and insurance..."
Christian Erni (ed), Dr Krishna Bhattachan, Dr Jeremy Ironside, Ms Satomi Higashi, Mr Amba Jamir, Mr Sudibya Kanti Khisa, Mr Prawit Nikorn, Mr Ben Efraim.
Source/publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), International Work Group For Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)
Date of publication: 2015-06-17
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-18
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 4.87 MB
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Title: Malaria Battle Set to Ramp Up
Description/subject: "Drug-resistant malaria appears to have taken hold in much of Myanmar, and scientists aren?t exactly sure how. It may have spread here from elsewhere, or it may have emerged independently, but in any case, the strategy to fight it seems set for a major change. More than a decade ago, the deadliest type of malaria-causing parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, evolved in Cambodia, becoming resistant to the main anti-malaria drug, artemisinin. For several years, resistant parasites have also been detected along the Myanmar-Thailand border, as well as in Bago Region, but earlier this year, scientists revealed that the problem may be much greater than was previously realized. In February, a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal showed that at 55 malaria treatment centers across the country, nearly 40 percent of parasite samples had genetic mutations linked to artemisinin resistance. In fact, these mutations were found in seven of the country?s 10 administrative regions, including in Homalin, Sagaing Region, only 15 miles from the Indian border. And that?s a big deal. Myanmar—stretching from the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea in the south to the Himalayan mountains in the north—offers the only known path for resistant parasites to make their way contiguously to the Indian subcontinent, and from there to Africa, where the disease already kills hundreds of thousands of children every year. This has happened in the past with other anti-malarial drugs that were once powerful but are now ineffective, resulting in the loss of millions of lives..."
Samantha Michaels
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2015-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-18
Type: Individual Documents
Category: Malaria
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: Law Review Commons
Description/subject: The collection holds more than 800 articles with references to Burma/Myanmar... Over 200 open-access law reviews · Over 150,000 articles · Free current issues & archives from 1852... "These publications make their current issues and archives, many spanning 100 years or more, freely available online through their institutions? bepress Digital Commons repositories. All Law Review Commons publications are made freely available online through their institutions? bepress Digital Commons repositories. The Commons includes many of the leading U.S. law reviews—such as the California Law Review and the Duke Law Journal... The effort to make all legal scholarship freely and openly accessible has rapidly gained momentum since 2008, when law library directors from 12 top law schools authored the Durham Statement, calling on all law reviews and legal journals to begin publishing in ?stable, open, digital formats.” Publishing open access increases the visibility of legal scholarship, makes scholars? work more discoverable, and may also lead to more citations. A recent analysis found that citation growth rates of open access journals were 3.8 times higher than for comparable non open access journals in 2012..."
Source/publisher: Law Review Commons
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-16
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: Govt Concerned by New ?Hardline? Ceasefire Negotiating Bloc
Description/subject: "RANGOON — The Burmese government?s hopes of finalizing a nationwide ceasefire agreement before this year?s election appear to have shrunk considerably, after this month?s ethnic summit in Law Khee Lar voted to cede negotiating power to a new ?hardline” committee. From the perspective of government peace negotiators, two problems have arisen from the Law Khee Lar summit, which concluded at the beginning of last week. First, ethnic leaders have refused to endorse the draft ceasefire text, demanding fresh negotiations over 15 amendments. Second, the new negotiating committee, which will assume the responsibilities of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), is comprised of people likely to be much less receptive to government overtures..."
LAWI WENG
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2015-06-15
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-16
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: To Stand And Be Counted - The Suppression of Burma?s Members of Parliament
Description/subject: "In May 1990 the people of Burma voted in the country?s first multi-party election in 30 years. The ruling military regime was forced to announce the election following nation-wide anti-government demonstrations in 1988 in which the army brutally gunned down thousands of protestors. Despite the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) imposing severe restrictions on campaigning for the election, and placing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest, the SLORC-backed party won just two percent of the seats. The election result was a landslide to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?s National League for Democracy (NLD), which won a staggering 81% of the seats. However following the election, the SLORC refused to hand over power and instead began a systematic campaign of repression against Members of Parliament (MPs) from the NLD and other opposition parties. Since the 1990 election, the SLORC, renamed the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has banned more than 80 political parties, forced from office more than a quarter of NLD MPs and jailed 78 MPs, more than 40 of whom remain in prison. ?To Stand And Be Counted: The Suppression of Burma?s Members of Parliament? examines the fate of Burma?s Members of Parliament elected to office in the May 1990 election. It includes 30 detailed tables, 16 maps and biographies of all 485 MPs. The book is an important reminder of the SLORC/SPDC?s brutal repudiation of political freedom in Burma, and of the sacrifices the elected representatives have made in the struggle for democracy and human rights."....."Contents: Foreword... Preface... Acronyms... Terms and Abbreviations... Notes About Usage... List of Tables... Map of Burma... Introduction... Recommendations... Members of Parliament: Arakan State; Chin State; Irrawaddy Division; Kachin State; Karen State; Kayah State; Magwe Division; Mandalay Division; Mon State; Pegu Division; Rangoon Division; Sagaing Division; Shan State; Tenasserim Division; General Tables; Appendix I - NLD Letter, August 1997... Appendix II - NLD Letter, December 1997... Appendix III - Gandhi Hall Declaration... Appendix IV - SLORC Declaration 1/90... Appendix V - Extracts from the Pyithu Hluttaw Election Law... Amendments to the Pyithu Hluttaw Election Law... Glossary of Selected Events and Organisations... Bibliography... Acronyms.
Source/publisher: All Burma Students? Democratic Front (ABSDF)
Date of publication: 1998-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-10
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.3 MB
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Title: 2015 Elections (on DVB site)
Description/subject: A collection of documents and articles from 2013 on the 2015 elections
Source/publisher: Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB)
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-05
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: Keeping the Faith: A Study of Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion in ASEAN, (Myanmar section)
Description/subject: CONCLUSION: "To conclude, the right to freedom of religion is still a very novel concept in Myanmar?s newly emerging political and social milieu. Against the backdrop of Myanmar?s so-called political liberalisation in 2011 and sectarian conflicts that ensued in 2012- 13, the nationwide Buddhist nationalist movement led by Ma-Ba-Tha and the 969 movement?s leaders has emerged and grown. An increasingly populist stance by the ruling Thein Sein administration has emerged, amidst calls by popular democratic leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other activists to amend the constitution and to reduce the military?s involvement in politics. Moreover, due to political and moral sensitivities posed by Ma- Ba-Tha and led by senior Buddhist monks, the opposition, except women?s rights groups and human rights networks, have been largely silent about the race protection bills. Due to dominance of the military representatives (25%) and the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party in the parliament, when the four bills are debated and voted by lawmakers, the liberal opposition may not have a final say in their passage. In an environment of increasingly intense political competition over various issues between the ruling USDP and the NLD (led by Aung San Suu Kyi), both of whom are eyeing the 2015 elections, Ma-Ba-Tha and its influence is expected to grow. If passed, the four race protection bills to restrict religious conversion, polygamy, interfaith marriage and population growth demanded by Ma-Ba-Tha are expected to affect interfaith relationships and freedom of religion especially of minorities. This is because the bills ultimately aim to ensure Buddhist dominance in Myanmar on the pretext of promoting religious harmony. That said, hate speech which has been widespread across Myanmar since sectarian Rakhine riots in June 2012, has been accepted as a serious impediment to Myanmar?s democratization by many activists, commentators and to some extent, by the government itself. The Panzagar movement led by former political prisoner and blogger Nay Phone Latt with the slogan of ?End Hate Speech with Flower Speech” has provided a warning to the larger Myanmar society. However, whether those civilian activists including Nay Phone Latt are able to counter the enormous influence that Buddhist Sangha has in Myanmar society is yet to be seen. The fact that a section of people accept that hate speech is dangerous137 does not mean that the ?flower speech” campaign will result in the elimination of these messages, nor will it tackle deeper issues for which only the state, and Myanmar people as a whole, can be deemed responsible.".....In addition to the Myanmar section, we include a link to the full report
Source/publisher: Human Rights Resource Centre
Date of publication: 2015-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-03
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 731.29 KB
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Title: ?The Current State of Counternarcotics Policy and Drug Reform Debates in Myanmar”,
Description/subject: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:- Key Findings: "• Myanmar is the world?s second largest producer of opium after Aghanistan. Following a decade of decline, cultivation has more than doubled since 2006. The production and use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) is also rising. • Most of the opium is turned into heroin and exported via neighboring countries, especially to China. • Decades of civil war and military rule have stimulated drug production and consumption, and marginalized ethnic communities. • Myanmar has high levels of injecting drug users infected with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. • Drug policies in Myanmar are repressive and outdated, with an ineffective focus on arresting drug users and eradicating poppy fields. • The central government is unable to provide quality treatment for drug users. Past political repression and human rights violations by the military government caused an international boycott which prevented international donors from providing assistance. • The reform process by the new quasi-civilian government includes both a peace process to end the civil war and a review of the country?s drug laws, raising hope for more effective and humane drug policies...... Policy Recommendations: • Myanmar?s drug policies should shift focus and prioritize the provision of services for drug users and promote alternative livelihoods for opium growing communities. • Drug-related legislation should decriminalize drug use, reduce sentences for other drug-related offenses, and allow space for needle exchange programs. • The government should expand harm reduction projects and provide voluntary treatment programs for drug users. • The government should formulate a strategic plan to prioritize alternative development programs. Eradication of poppy farms should not take place unless people have sufficient access to alternative livelihoods. As such, China?s opium substitution policy should not continue in its present form. • Affected communities, especially drug users and opium farmers, need to be involved in drug policy making. • More attention should be paid to ATS-related problems, which are largely overlooked by current policies."
Tom Kramer
Source/publisher: Foreign Policy at Brookings;Transnational Institute (TNI)
Date of publication: 2015-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-03
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 319.63 KB
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Title: Analysis of EIA for Phase I of Thilawa SEZ (English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Description/subject: Conclusion: "The Thilawa SEZ project is not clearly described and important information is missing throughout the EIA document. The public consultation process did not involve all relevant stakeholders, including affected communities, and did not provide sufficient information in any case. Consequently, the consultation process did not meet international standards and did not meet relevant JICA Guidelines. Had JICA provided adequate and appropriate support for the EIA according to its Guidelines, it could have assured that the project proponents were accounted for and planned to mitigate the negative social impacts that are and will continue to result from the project. Already there have been substantial impacts to local communities in Phase I as a result of relocation, including inadequate compensation resulting in impoverishment, lost access to land, and reduced or lost livelihoods. Thus, there is a direct link between JICA?s non-compliance with its Guidelines and the injuries suffered by the relocated communities. Furthermore, the analysis contained in the EIA is inadequate. Without further information on the industries that will operate in the SEZ, it is impossible to assess and account for the environmental and social impacts. Cumulative impacts are also ignored, and there is little clarity as to why certain sites were selected for traffic or air testing or why waste management data from an industrial zone in another country was used as a substitute for actual information at the Thilawa SEZ."
Source/publisher: Earthrights International
Date of publication: 2014-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-02
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 1.21 MB 1.13 MB
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Title: Analysis of the Affected Communities? Rights and Remedies Under Myanmar Law and JICA?s Guidelines English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Description/subject: A briefer on the Thilawa special economic zone....."Twice the Myanmar Government attempted to confiscate residential and farm land for the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ), and twice they failed to properly follow Myanmar laws. In both the 1996/97 and 2013 attempts to confiscate lands, the government and private parties ignored the procedures and requirements of Myanmar law, including the Land Acquisition Act. The Myanmar Government failed to properly notify affected communities or provide adequate compensation for relocation. Furthermore, the Thilawa SEZ Management Committee, the Yangon Regional Government, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) violated JICA?s Guidelines for Environmental and Social Consideration (the ?Guidelines”), resulting in significant harm to Thilawa communities. Accordingly, local communities request that these violations be acknowledged and adequately remedied by the Myanmar Government, the Thilawa SEZ Management Committee, and JICA as required by Myanmar law and JICA?s Guidelines..."
Source/publisher: Earthrights International
Date of publication: 2015-06-02
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-02
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 426.86 KB 1.13 MB
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Title: The Alder Managers:The Cultural Ecology of a Village in Nagaland, N.E. India (Gallery)
Description/subject: A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Australian National University.....ABSTRACT: "Although shifting cultivation has long been condemned as a wasteful land use practice, research has failed to identify alternative models suitable to the conditions under which shifting cultivators work. The failure of outside interventions suggests that attention should be directed to cases where, faced with land shortages, shifting cultivators have successfully developed their own innovations for intensified cultivation. This dissertation explores a striking exception to the general collapse of shifting cultivation systems in the Asia-Pacific region, in Nagaland, a remote corner of N.E. India where, for centuries, Naga farmers have managed a local alder tree (Alnus nepalensis) in their swidden fields. The study focuses on Khonoma, a long- established Angami Naga village in Kohima District with a reputation for particularly intensive use of alder in its dryland cultivation. A nearby Angami village, Tsiesema, does not practice alder management. It was thus adopted as a secondary research site that provided a benchmark of swiddening in the absence of alder, and through comparisons between the two study villages, allowed the study to better gauge the costs and benefits associated with alder management. The study explores the cultural ecology of Khonoma, with special emphasis on the role of alder in its swidden fields. It carefully documents how alder is being managed, examines the evidence for what benefits it provides, and seeks to reconstruct the historical reasons underlying alder?s magnified importance in Khonoma. It shows alder to be a pioneer tree that thrives in the study area, and how through centuries of trial and error, Khonoma has become extraordinarily skillful in managing it as an improved fallow species. By accelerating fallow functions, alder has allowed Khonoma to dramatically intensify its cultivation without slipping into the downward spiral of degradation typically seen when swidden systems are pushed beyond their ecological resilience. The thesis demonstrates how interwoven history, culture, the environment, the landscape and livelihood strategies are in Khonoma, and how they led to it managing alder more intensively than neighboring societies. The Khonoma experience provides a compelling example of farmers using a multipurpose tree as a ?bridge” that allowed them to effortlessly make the transition from shifting to permanent cultivation. This was achieved through small, incremental changes to their existing cultivation practices - an approach vastly more acceptable to farmers than the completely new technologies that projects often attempt to parachute into swidden communities.".....At 191MB the original document (follow the link to the Digital Himalaya site) may be too large for everyone to access. OBL has therefore split the document into Text and Gallery and reduced these sections using Finereader OCR and Adobe Acrobat tools. Since the full document is more than 1600 pages, this process may have produced errors. The original 191MB file should therefore be taken as authoritative.
Malcolm Cairns
Source/publisher: Australian National University (PhD thesis)
Date of publication: 2007-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-02
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 22.2 MB 8.52 MB
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Title: The Alder Managers:The Cultural Ecology of a Village in Nagaland, N.E. India (Text)
Description/subject: A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Australian National University.....ABSTRACT: "Although shifting cultivation has long been condemned as a wasteful land use practice, research has failed to identify alternative models suitable to the conditions under which shifting cultivators work. The failure of outside interventions suggests that attention should be directed to cases where, faced with land shortages, shifting cultivators have successfully developed their own innovations for intensified cultivation. This dissertation explores a striking exception to the general collapse of shifting cultivation systems in the Asia-Pacific region, in Nagaland, a remote corner of N.E. India where, for centuries, Naga farmers have managed a local alder tree (Alnus nepalensis) in their swidden fields. The study focuses on Khonoma, a long- established Angami Naga village in Kohima District with a reputation for particularly intensive use of alder in its dryland cultivation. A nearby Angami village, Tsiesema, does not practice alder management. It was thus adopted as a secondary research site that provided a benchmark of swiddening in the absence of alder, and through comparisons between the two study villages, allowed the study to better gauge the costs and benefits associated with alder management. The study explores the cultural ecology of Khonoma, with special emphasis on the role of alder in its swidden fields. It carefully documents how alder is being managed, examines the evidence for what benefits it provides, and seeks to reconstruct the historical reasons underlying alder?s magnified importance in Khonoma. It shows alder to be a pioneer tree that thrives in the study area, and how through centuries of trial and error, Khonoma has become extraordinarily skillful in managing it as an improved fallow species. By accelerating fallow functions, alder has allowed Khonoma to dramatically intensify its cultivation without slipping into the downward spiral of degradation typically seen when swidden systems are pushed beyond their ecological resilience. The thesis demonstrates how interwoven history, culture, the environment, the landscape and livelihood strategies are in Khonoma, and how they led to it managing alder more intensively than neighboring societies. The Khonoma experience provides a compelling example of farmers using a multipurpose tree as a ?bridge” that allowed them to effortlessly make the transition from shifting to permanent cultivation. This was achieved through small, incremental changes to their existing cultivation practices - an approach vastly more acceptable to farmers than the completely new technologies that projects often attempt to parachute into swidden communities.".....At 191MB the original document (follow the link to the Digital Himalaya site) may be too large for everyone to access. OBL has therefore split the document into Text and Gallery and reduced these sections using Finereader OCR and Adobe Acrobat tools. Since the full document is more than 1600 pages, this process may have produced errors. The original 191MB file should therefore be taken as authoritative.
Malcolm Cairns
Source/publisher: Australian National University (PhD thesis)
Date of publication: 2007-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-02
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 8.52 MB 22.2 MB
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Title: Myanmar: UN rights experts express alarm at adoption of first of four ?protection of race and religion? bills
Description/subject: GENEVA (27 May 2015) ? "A group of United Nations human rights experts today expressed alarm at the enactment of the Population Control Healthcare Bill in Myanmar, the first of four in a package of bills that seek to ?protect race and religion?. The bills are highly discriminatory against ethnic and religious minorities as well as against women. ?These bills risk deepening discrimination against minorities and setting back women?s rights in Myanmar,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee. ?At a time when thousands of Rohingya are already fleeing the country by boat, this sends precisely the wrong signal to these communities.” On Saturday, State media reported that the President of Myanmar had signed the Population Control Healthcare Bill. While the stated objectives of the Bill are to improve living standards, alleviate poverty, ensure quality healthcare and develop maternal and child health, its provisions are extremely vague and lack any protection against discrimination, the independent experts noted. Under the newly adopted law, certain areas can be designated for special health care measures, including birth spacing. ?Any coercive requirement for birth spacing with the aim to ?organise? family planning would constitute a disproportionate interference in the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and could amount to a violation of women?s human rights,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Pûras, noting that the Bill allows township groups to ?organise? married couples to practice 36-month birth spacing between pregnancies. ?Women should be able to choose freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children.”..."
Source/publisher: United Nations
Date of publication: 2015-05-27
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-29
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: The Palaung State Liberation Front/Ta?ang National Liberation Army
Description/subject: "With the possibility of the signing of a draft nationwide ceasefire agreement, questions remain over what will happen to those groups that the Government does not wish to include as signatories to the first nationwide ceasefire agreement. One of the most active groups in Northern Shan State in relation to the conflict is the armed wing of the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) the Ta?ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which is a member of the UNFC and NCCT..."
Paul Keenan
Source/publisher: Burma Centre for Ethnic Studies Peace and Reconcilition (Briefing Paper No. 25,/2015)
Date of publication: 2015-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-28
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 100.69 KB
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Title: Unwanted: Myanmar?s Rohingya Muslims Thousands flee to escape poverty and persecution. (video)
Description/subject: "Thousands of Rohingya adrift in the Andaman Sea with limited access to food and water may soon have shelter, at least temporarily. After weeks of turning away unseaworthy boats packed with migrants, Malaysia and Indonesia have now committed to providing immediate humanitarian aid and shelter for one year. Until recently governments have been reluctant to help, fearing a flood of refugees. Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya and refutes accusations that their treatment of the ethnic minority is to blame for the crisis. Rohingya Muslims are considered one of the world?s most persecuted people by the UN. How should regional governments and the international community respond to this ongoing crisis? ... On this episode of The Stream, we speak to: Zaw Naing @Zw_Naing Rohingya activist in exile Shwe Maung @ShweMaung_MP Member of Parliament, Buthidaung Constituency, Rakhine State Charles Santiago @mpklang Malaysian Member of Parliament charlessantiago.org Matthew Smith @matthewfsmith Executive Director, Fortify Rights
Source/publisher: Aljazeera (The Stream)
Date of publication: 2015-05-25
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-26
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Burmese general election, 2015 ( Wikipedia)
Description/subject: "The Burmese general election of 2015 is scheduled to take place in last week of October or first week of November. It will see voting take place in all the constituencies of Burma (Myanmar) excluding seats appointed by the Military, in order to appoint Members of Assembly to seats in the House of Nationalities, the upper house and House of Representatives, the lower house of the Assembly of the Union..."
Source/publisher: Wikipedia
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-26
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar?s Troubled Path to Reform Political Prospects in a Landmark Election Year
Description/subject: SUMMARY: "• Myanmar?s transition from military rule to democracy is far from complete, and its successes to date remain fragile. Given the chronic inertia and isolation of the previous half-century, there has been remarkable progress since 2011. But more work is needed to consolidate democracy, improve governance and promote stability. • Legislative elections due by the end of 2015 promise to be pivotal for the country?s political development. The elections are likely to be the freest in decades, but the opportunity for constitutional reform ahead of the polls appears to have been missed. • A political compromise between the military-dominated Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) no longer looks feasible before the elections. • Ceasefires with ethnic minorities in recent years have improved the security situation, but a national peace settlement has proven elusive. Armed groups may prefer to await the outcome of the elections rather than negotiate with the current government. • Sectarian rivalry and the legacy of prolonged government neglect are fuelling continued instability in Rakhine state. Domestic and international actors must address the crisis in the state urgently, or risk the emergence of a situation that threatens national unity as well as regional stability.".....CONCLUSION: A CRITICAL YEAR: "Myanmar faces enormous challenges, with the elections at the end of the year likely to be a turning point in its history. They could herald a new era that sees a diminishing role for the military, better relations with the outside world ? including the West ? and a country at peace with itself and embracing its many minorities. There are other futures too. A reform process that stumbles badly is clearly imaginable ? not least over the position of Aung San Suu Kyi in national life; ceasefires that do not hold with increasingly restless minorities; and the emergence of Rakhine state as potentially a new flashpoint in a rising global Islamist agenda. These dangers are all too real. In all likelihood Myanmar will find itself caught between these two scenarios. The elections will almost certainly proceed; abandoning reform is simply not an option now, even for military hardliners. Although much of institutional life is still dominated by the military, a real politics has emerged in Myanmar in recent years. Any attempt to put the democratic genie back in the bottle is unlikely. But the potential for unrest, and even violence, remains considerable. At the same time, other Southeast Asian histories offer alternative possibilities. While the military appears to be firmly back in charge in neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia has evolved into one of the more robust democracies in Southeast Asia. In doing so, the country has overcome a toxic legacy of 33 years of military rule (from 1965 to 1998) and has successfully fended off threats of internal secession and Islamist extremism. Indonesia?s example is one that many in Myanmar still hope their country can follow."
Michael C. Williams
Source/publisher: Chatham House
Date of publication: 2015-01-31
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-26
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 270.06 KB
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Title: Non-Refoulement (Chapter 4 of "The Refugee in International Law")
Description/subject: "The principle of non-refoulement prescribes, broadly, that no refugee should be returned to any country where he or she is likely to face persecution or torture. In this chapter, the scope of the principle is examined against the background of a number of recurring issues: the question of ?risk?; the personal scope of the principle, including its application to certain categories of asylum seekers such as stowaways or those arriving directly by boat; exceptions to the principle; extraterritorial application; extradition; and the ?contingent? application of the principle in situations of mass influx. The possible application of non-refoulement or an analogous principle of refuge to those outside the 1951 Convention/1967 Protocol is also considered, as is the relationship between non-refoulement and asylum. The analysis takes account of the increasing number of references to non- refoulement..." Extracted (with the author?s permission) from "The Refugee in International Law" by Guy S. Goodwin-Gill
Guy S. Goodwin-Gill
Source/publisher: OUP
Date of publication: 1995-11-30
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-23
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 327.46 KB
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Title: Results of a Google search for "Rohingya boat people"
Description/subject: 10,600,000 results (22 May 2015)
Source/publisher: Google
Date of publication: 2015-05-22
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-21
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: Saving people ?key right now? as migrants adrift and in limbo on boats off Thailand (video)
Description/subject: Saving lives needs to be the priority as thousands of migrants sit stuck on boats in the seas off Thailand with nowhere to go after being knocked back by country after country, argues Human Rights Watch Deputy Director in Asia Phil Robertson....Video and transcript.
Phil Robertson, Joe O'Brien
Source/publisher: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Date of publication: 2015-05-15
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-17
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect - Burma/Myanmar
Description/subject: "Burma/Myanmar: Ethnic and religious minorities in Burma/Myanmar, especially stateless Rohingya, continue to face the threat of mass atrocity crimes."...."Sporadic inter-communal violence in Burma/Myanmar, combined with discriminatory state policies, continues to put the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group, at risk of mass atrocity crimes. Rohingyas continue to be denied citizenship and other fundamental human rights by the government. On 29 September 2014 at the UN General Assembly, the government outlined the "Rakhine Action Plan," which would require Rohingyas to accept ethnic reclassification as "Bengali" in order to obtain citizenship or be forced into detention camps. On 31 March 2015 the government invalidated the identification cards held by many Rohingyas, forcing them to apply for citizenship as "Bengalis" by 1 June. This follows the government denying Rohingyas the ability to self-identify on the national census of March 2014, the first since 1983..."
Source/publisher: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-15
Type: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Title: Refighting Old Battles, Compounding Misconceptions: The Politics of Ethnicity in Myanmar Today
Description/subject: Executive Summary: "• Race, or ethnicity, compounded by religion, was a powerful theme in the Burmese nationalist movement in the 1920s, 30s and ?40s. Burmese nationalists felt their country was twice colonised, first by the British, and secondly by South Asians. As Burma was governed as an Indian province until 1937, South Asian immigrants and capital freely flowed into the colony. As a consequence, Buddhism was said to be in danger particularly from rapid growth of the South Asian Hindu and Muslim populations. Political activists, including Buddhist monks, are repeating this old cry today. • The issue of race was compounded by the necessity of integrating the ethnically and linguistically diverse northern border regions of Myanmar which had been indirectly ruled together with the directly ruled central and southern parts of the country at the time of independence in 1948. This was further complicated by the special provisions made in British law for ethnic representation in the directly ruled areas. The upshot was continuing armed strife up to today. • During the first period of parliamentary government, under Prime Minister U Nu, race became an issue upon which deals could be done and offers of concessions made in exchange for political support. The military socialist regime of General Ne Win failed to depoliticise the race issue. The current 2008 constitution merely compounds earlier efforts to appease political demands made in the name of ethnicity. • With the re-establishment of constitutional government since 2011, these recurring themes have come back in both domestic and international guises, threatening to endanger the effort to re-establish a viable political system. The so-called Rohingya issue is now being used to fuel political discord. • Only by depoliticising ethnicity and race will it be possible to maintain political order and reasoned politics. As human rights are confused with group aspirations in modern discourse, this will be extremely difficult but if an effort to remove race from discussions of public policy is not attempted, the result could be disastrous for the development of the constitutional order."
Robert H. Taylor
Source/publisher: "ISEAS Perspective" - Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
Date of publication: 2015-03-02
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-15
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 181.86 KB
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Title: Medical Terms - English, Karen & Burmese
Description/subject: A useful 32-page list of medical terms - English, Karen, Burmese...Additional terms for symptoms might make the list more useful in consultations.
Source/publisher: Drum Publications
Date of publication: 2007-11-30
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-11
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English, Karen, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Title: "THEY WANT US ALL TO GO AWAY" - Early Warning Signs of Genocide in Burma
Description/subject: "In March 2015, staff of the SIMON-SKJODT CENTER FOR THE PREVENTION OF GENOCIDE traveled to Burma, also called Myanmar, to investigate the threats facing the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group that has been subject to dehumanization through rampant hate speech, the denial of citizenship, and restrictions on freedom of movement, in addition to a host of other human rights violations that put this population at grave risk of additional mass atrocities and even genocide.... STARKEST EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF FUTURE MASS ATROCITIES: This list represents some of the concerns we heard the most often from Rohingya leaders and survivors: • Physical violence targeted against Rohingya people, homes, and businesses • Physical segregation of the Rohingya from members of other ethnic groups • Blockage of humanitarian assistance, including necessary health care • Deplorable living conditions for those displaced from their homes • Rampant and unchecked hate speech against Rohingya and other Muslims • Restrictions on movement • Stripping of citizenship • Destruction of mosques, onerous processes for Rohingya to maintain or fix mosques, and other restrictions on freedom of religion • Extortion and illegal taxation • Land confiscation • Two-child policy and restrictions on marriage in some areas of Rakhine State • ?Supply checks” or raids by security forces on Rohingya homes • Sexual violence and arbitrary arrest and detention • Abuses in detention • Revocation of legal or other documents • Inability to pursue livelihoods and restrictions on business opportunities • Lack of opportunities to pursue education • Restrictions on voting • Government blockage of information flow in and out of Rohingya communities..."
Source/publisher: UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM (IMON-SKJODT CENTER FOR THE PREVENTION OF GENOCIDE)
Date of publication: 2015-05-01
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-06
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.39 MB
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Title: [Burma] Media reform falters at a critical juncture
Description/subject: "As the election looms for later this year, incidents in 2014 and in early 2015 involving the press raises serious questions on the genuineness of media freedom in Burma. The situation is alarming as the state seems to have heaped all the faults and fines on the media in the past year, which has seen a media worker being killed in October on the pretext of national security. International assistance has poured into the country to develop the media aimed at lifting and sustaining the state of media freedom. However, a viable press freedom environment seems unlikely to materialise in Burma before the end of this administration. The media in Burma has been targeted for reporting on issues that have become irritants for the government. Departing from an earlier commitment to free the press, it appears lately that authorities are getting nervous about news reporting that may derail the outcome of their road map to democracy......The most palpable indication of reversals on media freedom in the country is the use of criminal laws to prosecute journalists doing their work. Legal threats against the media have spiraled upwards, and are being used by state authorities to put down growing criticism among the media...."
Source/publisher: Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
Date of publication: 2015-05-04
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-06
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Local URL:
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Title: The Draft Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement
Description/subject: "After seven rounds of talks between armed ethnic groups and the Thein Sein Government, progress was finally achieved on 31 March 2015 with the signing of the Draft Nationwide Ceasefire agreement. While there is still a long way to go in securing an equal and stable Burma, the finalisation of a draft Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement text was a fundamental step in satisfying ethnic group?s demands for a genuine federal union. The signing, which took place in Rangoon, was the culmination of talks that have lasted over seventeen months and have seen armed ethnic groups through the NCCT, the Union Peace Working Committee (UPWC) led by U Aung Min, and the Myanmar Peace Centre (MPC) debate the various conditions necessary to bring about a nationwide ceasefire. While the signing, with the endorsement of the President, is the most positive step yet ? there remain a number of issues to be addressed including ongoing conflict in Kachin State, Shan State, and the Kokang region. The draft Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) is only the first stage in a lengthy process that hopes to bring peace to the country. One of the main issues that needed to be clarified prior to the signing was chapter six of the agreement, entitled the Interim period. The interim arrangement involves how both parties will act after a ceasefire has been put in place and during the political dialogue phase..."
Paul Keenan
Source/publisher: Burma Centre for Ethnic Studies Peace and Reconcilition (Briefing Paper No. 24,/2015)
Date of publication: 2015-05-01
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-01
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 120.7 KB
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Title: Analysis of the China-Myanmar Timber Trade (English)
Description/subject: Abstract: "This policy brief analyzes recent trends in the timber products trade between China and Myanmar, using Chinese customs data from 2000 through 2013. Timber is one of the primary commodities traded between the two countries, providing significant revenue to Myanmar?s central government and ethnic political armed opposition groups, while supplying China with materials to feed its growing wood manufacturing sector. In 2013, timber product exports from Myanmar to China reached an all-time high by both volume and value, with 94% of these exports (by volume) registered by Chinese customs in Kunming, near the Myanmar border. Both countries banned cross-border timber trade in 2006, so these findings suggest high levels of illegality. Representatives from both countries plan to meet in March 2015 to discuss these issues further, and to develop strategies to promote a timber trade that is legal, beneficial to both nations, and sustainable in the long term."
Eve Richer
Source/publisher: Forest Trends
Date of publication: 2014-11-30
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-01
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 399.61 KB
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Title: Myanmar?s Electoral Landscape
Description/subject: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "Myanmar is preparing to hold national elections in early November 2015, five years after the last full set of polls brought the semi-civilian reformist government to power. The elections, which are constitutionally required within this timeframe, will be a major political inflection point, likely replacing a legislature dominated by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), established by the former regime, with one more reflective of popular sentiment. The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Aung San Suu Kyi is well-placed to take the largest bloc of seats. There have been major improvements in election administration since the deeply flawed 2010 elections and the more credible 2012 by-elections. While the election commission is still widely perceived as close to the government and the USDP, the transparent and consultative approach it has adopted and the specific decisions it has taken suggest it is committed to delivering credible polls. This includes major efforts to update and digitise the voter roll; consultation with civil society and international electoral support organisations on the regulatory framework; invitations to international electoral observers for the first time, as well as to domestic observers; changing problematic provisions on advance voting; and reducing the costs of a candidacy. The broader political environment is also more conducive to credible elections, with a significantly freer media and much improved civil liberties. There remain major challenges to a credible, inclusive and peaceful election. Much of the periphery of the country is affected by armed conflict, and though there have been important steps toward bringing the six-decade civil war to a close, the process remains fragile and incomplete. The vote could be marred by violence in some areas and will not be possible in others. In central Myanmar, rising Burman nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiment have exploded sporadically into violence, something that could happen again in the politically charged context of an election. In Rakhine state, minority Muslim communities have been disenfranchised by a decision to cancel their identification documents. Electoral security and risk management preparations have become a critical priority of the election commission. Capacity constraints will also come into play. The country has very limited experience of democratic polls, including government staff, security services and election commission staff at the local level. Understanding among the electorate is also very low, and major education efforts will be required. For the elections to be successful, there must also be broad acceptance of the results. In a context of divergent expectations and, inevitably, winners and losers, this will be a challenge. While reformist government leaders appear reconciled to the prospect of the NLD winning the most seats, it is unclear whether this sentiment is shared by a majority of the old elite. Similarly, it is unclear whether the NLD?s base fully understands likely post-election scenarios. With Aung San Suu Kyi constitutionally barred from the presidency and no obvious alternative within its ranks, it is probable that even if the party wins a landslide, it will have to select a compromise candidate for president ? potentially a reformist member of the old regime. The some three months between the elections and the presidential electoral college?s decision will be a time of considerable uncertainty, possible tension, and intense behind-the-scenes negotiation. The outcome, and the extent to which it is broadly accepted, will determine whether there is a smooth transfer of power and whether the next administration will have the broad support necessary to govern or have its legitimacy constantly questioned. Probably the most important factor will be the support ? or at least acquiescence ­? of the military, which retains strong influence over the process. The commander-in-chief has voiced support for the democratic electoral process and has undoubtedly foreseen the prospect of strong support for the NLD. But this does not mean he would be comfortable with all the potential implications of such an outcome. The elections are coming less than five years into what will continue to be a long and difficult transition for Myanmar. They create a moment of political competition and polarisation in a transition process that requires compromise and consensus. If credible and inclusive, they can help to build confidence that the country is on a new political path and thereby inject fresh momentum into the reforms. Equally, they could damage the delicate set of compromises that has so far kept the process broadly on track. It behoves political leaders on all sides to ensure that they keep this larger prize foremost in their minds."
Source/publisher: (International) Crisis Group
Date of publication: 2015-04-28
Date of entry/update: 2015-04-30
Type: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 422.72 KB
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