Indigenous
Govt publishes data on populations of religious groups
According to the figures publicly launched by the Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population, on 21 July in the capital Naypyidaw, Buddhists constitute 87.9 percent of the country, Christians make up 6.2 percent, Muslims comprise 4.3 percent, animists are counted at 0.8 percent and Hindus are ...
More Montagnard asylum seekers return to Vietnam
On 12 July, 16 Montagnards – an ethnic mountain minority who are predominantly Christian – were sent back to Vietnam through Ratanakkiri province after most had their applications for refugee status rejected, and all volunteered to go back to their homeland, government officials said on 13 ...
Rights groups give NLD poor marks on party’s ‘100 days’ record
Two international advocacy organisations have slammed the new Myanmar government for failing to address fundamental human rights shortcomings in its first 100 days in office, echoing recent criticism from the international community. In a joint statement, the International Federation for Human Rights and the Alternative ...
As war of words drags on, government in Rakhine State opts for term ‘Rakhine ethnics’
A day after thousands of Buddhist nationalists staged protests across Rakhine State, the regional government issued a statement saying it would call the state’s Buddhist majority “Rakhine ethnics”, as controversy over terminology continues to simmer. The announcement yesterday said the state government would drop the phrase ...
Govt to meet again with armed Kokang groups
The government is planning to meet with the three armed ethnic groups from the Kokang region that had been excluded from last year’s so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement, according to government peace negotiator U Hla Maung Shwe. The three groups have been fighting the Tatmadaw since ...
Farmers squeezed by ‘reclaim forestland’ campaign
Many people’s hearts sink every time they see news photos about treeless mountains in once-verdant Nan province or mask-wearing people in frequently hazy Chiang Mai. “We used to have our own land plots and earned a living as farmers – but not anymore,” lamented a middle-aged ...
NGO releases ELC figures to help with ‘shortcomings’
The NGO Forum on 28 June released an extensive and updated accounting of economic land concessions in Cambodia, suggesting that in a 20-year period, 267 ELCs totalling 1,532,783 hectares were granted. The data collection, from 1995 to the end of 2015, was conducted by the Research Advocacy ...
Govt peace delegation asks ethnic groups to disarm
Myanmar government peace delegation led by Dr. Tin Myo Win has told three ethnic armed groups of the Arakan, Palaung and Kokang ethnicities not to attack the Myanmar Army and to disarm so that they will be invited to join the upcoming peace conference, sources say. The ...
Damming the Nam Tha in Northern Laos
The Nam Tha, or Tha River, begins in northern Laos near the Lao-China border and runs southwest to join the Mekong just south of Huay Xay on the Lao-Thai border. In October 2014, I traveled by motorcycle and longtail boat up the Nam Tha, starting ...
Censorship harms Myanmar’s chance for reconciliation
The Human Rights Human Dignity film festival could not screen its opening film Twilight over Myanmar: My Life as a Shan Princess in Yangon this week. Myanmar’s film censorship board banned the film because it could allegedly tarnish the image of the Myanmar Army and harm ethnic ...
