Ethnic minorities and indigenous people
Ethnic minorities and indigenous people policy and rights
UN: Thousands displaced by rebel fighting in Myanmar
At least 3,000 people have fled their homes in northern Myanmar following clashes between two ethnic rebel groups, the United Nations said on 16 February, raising fears the government’s fragile peace efforts could be fracturing. Heavy fighting in the northern state of Shan broke out last ...
Clashes spread in Shan State
Hundreds of civilians in Myanmar’s northern Shan State are reported to have fled a sudden offensive by government forces and separate fighting between two ethnic armed groups, while senior monks are intervening to help villagers trapped in the war zone. The two days of fighting in ...
Ethnic MPs get ready to take on the majority
Even though Myanmar’s NLD controls both houses of parliament, ethnic minority MPs are ready to take on the majority to improve ethnic rights. The representative of the Zomi Congress for Democracy, which won two upper house and two lower house seats, said that even with a small ...
Rakhine government builds homes for displaced people
The Rakhine State government has started building new homes in six villages in Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U townships for civilians who fled fighting between the Arakan Army (AA) and the military last month. District and township authorities, as well as police, had ordered IDPs (internally displaced people) to ...
Conf : Religious leaders needed in peace process
President U Thein Sein attended this weekend’s World Peace Buddhist Conference, organised by the deputy chair of the nationalist hardline group Ma Ba Tha. Held at the Sitagu Academy’s Sagaing campus, the event was self-described as bringing together dozens of leaders from all religions to counter ...
Rakhine IDPs call for international aid
Organisers of makeshift camps for villagers fleeing a military offensive in remote areas of Rakhine State are appealing to the international community for aid. More than 300 civilians, all of whom are said to be ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, have fled to the safety of monasteries following ...
Rakhine villagers flee Tatmadaw attacks
Rakhine residents in two northern townships say they are living in fear and do not dare go out after dark after government troops forced locals to work as porters during ongoing operations against Arakan Army militants. Relief workers say more than 300 civilians, mostly Rakhine Buddhists, ...
Lack of ethnic party MPs ‘serious weakness’ in parliament
During the 8 November election, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide, crushing the army-linked Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and surprising many by also winning big in ethnic minority-dominated areas where ethnic political parties had expected ...
Conflicting calls mark peace conference
Key ethnic armed groups are boycotting the talks and more than 100 civil society organisations called for their postponement, but nonetheless President U Thein Sein’s government on 12 January launched the first round of a political dialogue aimed at bringing a permanent end to over six ...
Stateless Lao still struggling for basic rights in Thailand 40 years later
The 21-year civil war in Laos forced a large number of Lao people to seek refuge in Thailand, and many of them still live in the country today. Despite a long presence in Thailand, scores of them have not yet obtained Thai citizenship and are now more concerned ...
