13 December 2013 – Note: Ex-political prisoner Dr. Za Hlei Thang, a Chin MP elected in Burma’s 1990 General Election, and former President of the Supreme Council of the Chin National Front (CNF), addressed the Chin National Conference held in Hakha, Chin State on 12-15 November 2013.
09 December 2013: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi sent a letter addressed to President Thein Sein, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of the Burma Armed Forces, and Thura Shwe Mann, Speaker of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (the Assembly of the Union) in November 2013. In her letter, she requested them to have a face-to-face meeting to find a way to amend the Constitution of Burma. But, the request was put on hold.
30 November 2013: Pi Kam Khan Dim gave a speech on behalf of Chin women during the opening ceremony of the Chin National Conference held in Hakha, Chin State on 12-15 November 2013.
28 November 2013: Salai Ko Ko Naing, Chin Affairs Minister of Arakan State, gave a speech during the opening ceremony of the Chin National Conference held in Hakha, Chin State from 12-15 November 2013.
21 September 2013: The theme for International Peace Day for 2013 is ‘Education for Peace’. When wars break out, armed conflict is destroying not only schools but the hopes and ambitions of generations of children.
It was my first return trip to my native Burma (Myanmar) after 14 years of life in exile. I had two things on my agenda. I wanted to find out how I could support the much-needed democratic reform process; and second, I wanted to provide technical assistance – instant interpretation for international observers – for the second round of the Union-level peace talks between the Chin National Front (CNF) and the peace committee of Burma’s government.
27 February 2013: As part of his five European nation tour, President Thein Sein’s first stop is set to be in Norway, marking the first official visit ever by Burma’s head of state to an oil-rich nation with a population of about five million.
19 January 2013 (Editorial): At the moment the Burma Army seems to be gaining the upper hand in the ongoing war in Kachin State, with the recent reported takeover of two key strategic positions of the Kachin line of defense.
13 November 2012: [CG note: Victor Biak Lian, Chin activist, ethnic leader, freedom fighter and winner of the 2010 St. Shephen’s Prize, made a short visit to ethnic states including his native Chinland in Burma after spending the last 24 years in exile struggling for human rights, democracy and freedom in the country.]
31 October 2012: Less than a month after the Burmese democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi concluded her highly decorated visit to the US, which was followed by the US announcement to ease its sanctions on imports from 1Burma, another major communal violence broke out in the western part of the country that have claimed more than 100 lives and resulted in thousands of internally displaced Rohingyas. In the north, the Burmese military continues its offensive against the ethnic armed group, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
