Myanmar

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Fighting Breaks Out After Myanmar Election

Thousands flee as militia battles government troops

(Newser) - Some 10,000 people fled across the border from Myanmar into Thailand today to escape fighting between government troops and a splinter of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army rebel group. At least three people have been killed and 10 others wounded in the battle, which broke out in the eastern...

Obama Bashes Rigged Myanmar Election

Critics say vote a transparent charade

(Newser) - Vote counting has barely begun in Myanmar after the country's first election in 20 years, but critics say the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Reports have been flying of foul play, the Wall Street Journal reports. President Obama criticized the elections as "fundamentally flawed" and urged the junta to...

Freedom Next Week for Suu Kyi? Doubtful
 Freedom Next Week 
 for Suu Kyi? Doubtful 
analysis
Nov 6, 2010 9:41 PM CDT

Freedom Next Week for Suu Kyi? Doubtful

Junta seems nervous even after rigging election

(Newser) - Myanmar has begun voting in its first election in 20 years and—spoiler alert—the junta-backed party is going to win. The ruling regime has rigged the rules to make sure of that, writes Independent correspondent Peter Popham. The real question is whether the regime will release Aung San Suu...

Myanmar Unveils New Flag
 Myanmar Unveils New Flag 
Oct 21, 2010 2:08 PM CDT

Myanmar Unveils New Flag

Government says it's part of transition to democracy

(Newser) - Military-ruled Myanmar unveiled a new national flag today, just two weeks before an election that the government calls a major step in a transition to democracy but critics say is a sham. The 2008 constitution pushed through by the military called for fresh national symbols, including a new flag whose...

Rare White Elephant Found in Burma

Creature hailed as sign of good luck

(Newser) - Villagers in western Myanmar have found a rare white elephant, a traditional symbol of good fortune in a region that badly needs it. The villagers spotted the animal in a herd of five elephants and contacted the Ministry of Forestry, which captured it, Reuters reports. White elephants—which are actually...

Burma's Suu Kyi Turns 65 in Confinement

Supporters mark yet another birthday under house arrest

(Newser) - Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi marked her 65th birthday today locked in her dilapidated lakeside compound as calls for her freedom erupted around the world. President Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded Suu Kyi's release in statements echoed at rallies and prayer vigils across the globe. Supporters...

Burma Working on Nuclear Weapons: Report

But it'll be years before they know how to make a bomb

(Newser) - Burma has been secretly acquiring the materials it needs to build a nuclear weapon, though the country currently lacks the technological expertise to do so, according to a new report. Based on documents and photos smuggled out of the country by an army defector, the study concludes with “high...

Burmese Junta Honchos Quit the Army
 Burmese Junta Honchos 
 Quit the Army 
ELECTION ANTICS
Apr 28, 2010 4:35 AM CDT

Burmese Junta Honchos Quit the Army

Leaders plan to stand as civilians in tightly controlled election

(Newser) - Burma's prime minister and 22 of his cabinet ministers have swapped their military uniforms for civvies, a move the junta's critics say is part of the country's shift from a military dictatorship to a civilian one. Observers believe the leaders—who will keep their posts in the country's government—have...

Opposition Boycotting Myanmar Election

Move means Suu Kyi's party will be dissolved and its assets seized

(Newser) - Any hope Myanmar's military junta may have had of its elections this year not being considered a sham vanished yesterday as Aung Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy announced it would not be participating, The move—which follows the introduction of a law banning Suu Kyi from standing for election—...

Suu Kyi Barred From Election
 Suu Kyi Barred From Election 
Mar 11, 2010 2:07 AM CST

Suu Kyi Barred From Election

State Department slams junta's latest move

(Newser) - Myanmar's military junta has announced a law that effectively bans Aung San Suu Kyi from taking part in this year's election. The law prevents any member of a political party who has been convicted in court from taking part in the electoral process. Suu Kyi was found guilty of breaching...

Myanmar Dashes Suu Kyi's Bid for Freedom

Court quashes activist's bid to end house arrest

(Newser) - The highest court in military-ruled Myanmar dismissed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's latest bid for freedom today, turning down an appeal to end 14 years of house arrest. The Supreme Court's decision comes as no surprise as legal rulings in Myanmar rarely favor opposition activists. Defense lawyer Nyan Win...

Burma Urged to Take US Citizen Out of Solitary

Diplomats want junta to return hunger striker to a normal cell

(Newser) - An American citizen jailed without charge in Burma since fall has been put in solitary confinement after ending a 12-day hunger strike this month, embassy officials say. Diplomats have requested that Kyaw Zaw Lwin be returned to a normal prison cell, the AP reports. Kyaw—whose mother and sister have...

Obama's Overseas To-Do List for 2010
 Obama's Overseas 
 To-Do List for 2010 
ANALYSIS
Dec 22, 2009 7:07 PM CST

Obama's Overseas To-Do List for 2010

Afghanistan, Iran top list that domestic politics could kill anyway

(Newser) - As President Obama noted in his Nobel speech, it’s a scary world out there, and Kevin Whitelaw takes a look at some of the things on his foreign-policy to-do list in 2010:
  • Pacify Afghanistan to some extent: Now that it’s “undeniably Obama’s war,” Whitelaw writes
...

Suu Kyi Granted Meeting With Her Party

Detained leader plans to reorganize Burma's opposition

(Newser) - Burma's detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, today met with three political allies to discuss the future of her political party, the National League for Democracy. It was the first time since June 2008 that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was allowed to meet with the NLD's ailing leaders....

Obama: 'War Is Sometimes Necessary'
 Obama: 'War Is 
 Sometimes 
 Necessary' 
nobel acceptance speech
Dec 10, 2009 7:53 AM CST

Obama: 'War Is Sometimes Necessary'

Obama accepts peace prize by saying force morally justified

(Newser) - President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize today with, paradoxically, a defense of war. Obama began his speech by acknowledging the controversy surrounding his reward, both because his accomplishments are slight and because of the wars he presides over. “We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes,”...

Junta's Honcho Meets Suu Kyi
 Junta's Honcho Meets Suu Kyi 
Dec 9, 2009 5:34 AM CST

Junta's Honcho Meets Suu Kyi

State media slam 'dishonest' pro-democracy leader

(Newser) - Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was escorted from her home today for her first talks with junta officials in two months. Officials declined comment on the subject of the talks with the detained activist, the AP reports. A state-run newspaper yesterday accused Suu Kyi of "dishonesty" for...

Obama to Myanmar: Free Suu Kyi

First direct appeal for pro-democracy leader's release

(Newser) - President Barack Obama today abandoned decades of Western avoidance and told Myanmar's prime minister to free opposition leader and fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a rare face-to-face meeting. The strong message, delivered during his summit with leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations, signals a further thawing in...

Burmese Junta Says It Will Release Suu Kyi
Burmese Junta Says It Will Release Suu Kyi
deja vu
Nov 9, 2009 5:10 PM CST

Burmese Junta Says It Will Release Suu Kyi

Junta claims it will spring activist to 'organizer her party'

(Newser) - Pro-democracy activists are responding skeptically to news that Burma’s ruling junta is considering releasing Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who has been under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years. "There is a plan to release her soon so she can organize her party,...

Aung San Suu Kyi Meets US, Other Diplomats

Surprise permission may signal shift in Burmese junta

(Newser) - Burma's military rulers allowed Aung San Suu Kyi to meet with diplomats from the US, Britain and Australia today, an unexpected development that may reflect shifts in Western approaches to the regime. The hourlong meeting took place at a government guest house, after which she was returned to the home...

Suu Kyi Loses Appeal, Will Sit Out Election

Burmese democracy leader fails to reverse newest term of house arrest

(Newser) - A Burmese court rejected Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against her latest spell of house arrest today. The pro-democracy leader, who was convicted of violating her previous sentence after an American swam to her home, will remain confined through next year and will be ineligible for the upcoming election. A...

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