News
Ceasefire negotiators dig in for more talks as clashes continue
Nationwide ceasefire talks billed as a last chance to forge a deal before the start of election campaigning look set to continue as both sides of Myanmar’s long-running conflicts haggle over details of the text and who will sign it. U Hla Maung Shwe, a senior ...
China responds angrily to life sentences for illegal loggers
Beijing hit out at long jail sentences handed to more than 150 Chinese nationals for illegal logging in Myanmar, in the latest tremor to shake relations between the neighbours. The mass sentencing, which has sparked outraged editorials in Chinese state-run media, comes after the loggers were ...
Ministry approves nationwide union in Myanmar
The Ministry of Labour has officially approved the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM) as Myanmar’s first national-level labour organisation, despite many other unions applying for similar status. The ministry said it approved the CTUM application because it had fulfilled all requirements specified in the Labour ...
Caution urged as Myanmar poised to embrace more mining
New mining laws in Myanmar are expected to come into place after November’s national elections, enticing more foreign investment, but rights groups fear local communities could be imperiled without more solid legal protections. Analysts say Myanmar’s mining industry is still at the “frontier” stage of development ...
Final peace deal eludes Myanmar Government and armed ethnic groups
The latest round of peace talks between Myanmar’s government and armed ethnic groups ended 24 July without finalizing a nationwide peace accord, due to disagreement over the exclusion of six rebel groups and ethnic-proposed amendments, negotiators said. The Union Peace Working Committee, the government’s negotiating team, failed ...
Verification program begins but most migrants frozen out
Immigration teams from Myanmar have arrived in Thailand to conduct a long-awaited nationality verification process meant to regularise the status of over half a million workers caught in immigration limbo. The current plan involves sending out newly arrived representatives from the labour ministry, immigration department and ...
Why Southeast Asia's refugee crisis matters
The Diplomat, in collaboration with concerned stakeholders around the world, is launching a new series entitled “Southeast Asia: Refugees in Crisis.” In May 2015, thousands of Rohingya refugees from the Rakhine State of Myanmar and economic migrants from Bangladesh were found stranded in the Strait of ...
High-profile foreign brands back minimum wage for all
Big-name clothing brands sourcing from Myanmar have waded into the minimum wage debate, urging its implementation even as their own suppliers dispute the proposed salary and request an exemption from the law. At the end of June 2015, the government moved to implement the 2013 Minimum ...
Burma sentences Chinese nationals to life for illegal logging
China has lodged a diplomatic protest with Myanmar after a court in the southeast Asian nation sentenced 153 Chinese nationals to life imprisonment for illegal logging. China’s voracious demand for Myanmar’s raw materials has fuelled resentment in Myanmar towards its giant northern neighbor. Regions along Myanmar’s porous border with China have ...
Rain stops but tens of thousands homeless
Tens of thousands of residents in the Sagaing Region, Myanmar, remain displaced as a result of recent flooding, which has still not subsided despite a halt to the rain. Local officials in the worst-hit regions of Kawlin and Wuntho townships said the water level had dropped ...
