Myanmar

Burmese Rohingya repatriation: Government receives list of returning refugees

The Burmese/Myanmar government has received a list of 8,032 Rohingya that will be repatriated into the borders of Burma. The list went to Burmese Home Affairs Minister Lt-Gen Kyaw Swe recently, who is coordinating with Bangladeshi officials. These repatriation efforts are essentially trying to get many of those who have fled, back to the home of […]

Burmese police ‘acquires’ land in Rohingya village, builds base

The Burmese/Myanmar police force have gone to Buthidaung township in western Rakhine State, seized land and have begun plans to set up a regimental base, according to local news outlets. When the non state-run, local news outlets asked the Burmese police whether or not this land was acquired legally, they were not met with answers, however […]

Member of Burmese parliament charged with high treason

Myanmar/Burma — Two of Burma’s upper echelon have been charged with high treason on Friday. U Aye Maung, a member of Burmese Parliament, and Wai Hin Aung, an author, were charged by the Sittwe District Court. On Jan. 17, thousands of Burmese were in the streets, protesting the government’s decision to ban the celebration of […]

‘Grandfather Longlegs’: The courage of Maj. Hugh Seagrim

Major Hugh Seagrim is a western name known by many in the jungles of Burma. He was a British officer in the army during WWII and became a hero among the Karen people back then and remains one today. They called him “Grandfather Longlegs” when he fought alongside them, due to his tall, lanky stature […]

Burmese military continuously blocks Karen statue from being built

The United States has been mired in controversy when it comes to Confederate statues. Do we accept that the Confederate monuments are a part of our history? Does their removal threaten to erase history, preventing us from learning anything? Would that callously disregard the heritage and loss of life of those in the Confederacy, many […]

Burmese government denies existence of mass graves

The Burma/Myanmar government has officially denied the existence of the mass graves reported by the Associated Press recently. In a press release only accessible by the state-owned media organizations, officials said that they launched an investigation in Gutar Pyin and quickly found no such mass graves. Instead, the military says that they came into contact […]

AP investigation reveals at least 5 Rohingya mass graves

The Associated Press released a report recently, confirming at least give mass graves filled with the bodies of Rohingya men, women and children. Many of the men were difficult to identify as their faces were either burned with acid or shot beyond recognition. According to multiple Rohingya Muslim sources at the massacres, the soldiers came […]

A deeper look into Burma’s recent ‘Mrauk U Massacre’

Burma/Myanmar — Mrauk U is a town in eastern Burma, in northern Rakhine State, where the violence with the Rohingya has taken place in recent months (though Mrauk U has been largely spared, until now). Somewhere between hundreds and thousands (depending on who you talk to) gathered in the town in remembrance of the Kingdom […]

Russia sells Burma six Su-30 fighter jets

As Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu vistited Burma/Myanmar last week, they agreed upon a sale resulting in the acquisition of six Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets for the Burmese military. Shoigu met with the Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw, the capital of Burma. General Hlaing occupies the most senior position within the Burmese […]

The basic geography of the conflicts in Burma/Myanmar

There is a constant stream of news coming out of the conflicts in Burma/Myanmar, and it can get confusing to understand with words that blend together — words like, Rohingya, Burma, Myanmar, Yangon, Rangoon, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Karen, Karenni, Kachin, Shan … the list goes on. However, in attempting to understand the longest […]