Pope asks for liberation of Myanmar’s detained ex-leader Aung San Suu Kyi
Rome, Italy Reuters Pope Francis has called for the liberation of Myanmar’s detained former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and offered the Vatican as a safe haven, the pontiff said in a recent conversation with Jesuits in Asia. “I asked for the Ms Aung San Suu Kyi’s release and received her son […]
Myanmar junta announces census for promised 2025 election
Reuters Myanmar’s military government will conduct a nationwide population and household census in October, state media said on Monday, paving the way for a promised election next year amid raging conflict across swathes of the country. The census data collected between at and 15th October will be used to hold a general election next year, […]
Myanmar junta reiterates election plan after ex-Cambodia PM seeks Suu Kyi access
Reuters Myanmar’s military chief discussed plans to hold an election in the country with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen in talks this week, a senior official said, even as the ruling junta faces unprecedented pressure from an expanding armed resistance. The military government has promised repeatedly to return Myanmar to democracy but has given no […]
Myanmar’s ex-leader Suu Kyi moved to house arrest
Reuters Myanmar’s detained former leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been moved from prison to house arrest, a spokesperson for the military government told media. “Since the weather is extremely hot, it is not only for Aung San Suu Kyi…For all those, who need necessary precautions, especially elderly prisoners, we are working […]
Fight back or flee? Myanmar draft forces hard choices on youth
Reuters Weeks after Myanmar’s military government announced a nationwide draft, two young women from far-flung parts of the South-East Asian country headed to the jungles to take up arms against the junta. For two men in their 30s in Myanmar’s two largest cities, the threat of conscription after the February call-up prompted them to upend […]
Myanmar junta chief calls for unity, says military holding power “temporarily”
Reuters Myanmar’s ruling general said on Wednesday the junta was holding power only temporarily with the aim of strengthening democracy, and he called for unity among the people and military to fight armed groups seeking to derail plans to hold an election. Addressing an annual Armed Forces Day parade, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who […]
Myanmar junta’s conscription plan lays bare toll of fighting rebels
Reuters The Myanmar’s military conscription plan reveals the heavy toll that months of incessant fighting against rebels have had on its troops and the struggles the generals are facing to replenish their ranks, analysts, diplomats and a defector said. The plan, which was announced this week, comes after the junta lost control of swathes of […]
Myanmar junta’s partial pardon of Suu Kyi means ‘absolutely nothing’, says son
London, UK Reuters A partial pardon by Myanmar’s ruling military of jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi means “absolutely nothing”, her younger son said on Wednesday, calling on Western governments to do more to step up pressure on the junta. The pardons on five of the 19 offences of which she was convicted mean six […]
Essay: Military violence in Myanmar is worsening amid fierce resistance and international ambivalence
In an article first published on The Conversation, THARAPHI THAN, a US-based scholar on Myanmar’s history, looks at the ongoing violence in Myanmar…
Myanmar junta extends emergency as coup anniversary marked by ‘silent protest’
Reuters Myanmar’s junta extended the country’s state of emergency by another six months, the acting President said at a leadership meeting broadcast on state TV on Wednesday, as protesters marked the anniversary of a 2021 military coup with a “silent protest”. Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing, in a meeting on Tuesday with the army-backed […]