Saturday, February 25, 2012

Teenage Boys Tell of Forced Labor Horror


24 February 2012
LAIZA, Kachin State—The Burmese army is using underage boys for 
forced labour and is coercing porters to fight on the front line against 
the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), according to accounts given to 
The Irrawaddy by four teenagers who say they served as porters 
for the army.

Japan set to resume Burma loans

24 February 2012
Japan is moving to resume loans to Burma after a quarter of a century, 
a report said Thursday, the latest move by the world community to bring 
the country in from the cold.
Tokyo hopes to reach an agreement with Burma on a conditional resumption 
of the loans — to be used for infrastructure projects such as ports and railways 
— at a summit in late April, the Nikkei newspaper said.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Why Phuket needs Burmese workers


23 February 2012
PHUKET: Talk about Thailand’s history with any Thai and almost inevitably 
images of Thai and Burmese soldiers on the battlefield spring to mind. Thai 
historical dramas in the cinema – Bang Rajan, Suriyothai, Naresuan are good 
examples – are almost exclusively about wars between Burma and Siam.

2012 Feb 22 KNU Press Release on Ceasefire (English)

2012 Feb 22 KNU Press Release on Ceasefire (English)

2012 Feb 22 2 KNU Ceasefire and Peace Talk Progress Report ( Eng)

2012 Feb 22 2 KNU Ceasefire and Peace Talk Progress Report ( Eng)

Speak up or write it down


23 February 2012
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Shwe Mann, the speaker of the Burmese Lower House,
has urged MPs to speak out for the people, and if they are afraid to speak 
out publicly then put it in writing.

Civil servant wage hike approved amid controversy

22 February 2012
A move to raise the minimum wage of civil servants to 210,000 kyat 
($210) a month has been ratified without dissent by Parliament, days 
after being publicly challenged by the Finance Minister Hla Tun.
The decision risks a tussle with Cabinet, who are understood to have 
backed demands to withdraw the proposals in an alleged bid to protect 
the country’s faltering economy.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

160 Burmese Suffer Forced Hard Labor in Kuwait


20 February 2012
160 Burmese have been suffering from great trouble in Kuwait as 
their employer has forced to do hard labor in the desert after bringing 
them to the country on the promise of carpentry jobs, according to 
a letter sent by a fellow migrant worker.