Mizzima News

Ten activists were arrested after monks and civilians protested at the Latpadaung copper mine area in Monywa, Burma demanding the government take action against the policemen who have “persecuted citizens.”

Over 50 member and partner organisations of FORUM-ASIA and SEAPA have released an open letter raising serious concern about recent developments in Cambodia, as the country gears up for the National Assembly Elections on 28 July 2013.

The Burmese organisation Mizzima was born out of a democratic struggle, and has been fighting for press freedom for over 15 years; it takes an historic step forward by publishing the “Mizzima Daily” newspaper for the first time on 24 May 2013.

A key US senator has backed an end to U.S. sanctions on Burma after a landmark visit by Thein Sein, the country’s reformist leader, signaling a new normalisation in relations despite rights concerns.

Burma’s cancelation of amnesty for former political political prisoner Nay Myo Zin and his imprisonment on charges of defaming police officers is a warning sign.

Burma pardoned dozens of political prisoners, one day after the European Union agreed to end almost all sanctions against the former pariah state; more than 200 political prisoners are reportedly still in prison.

A defamation case by Burma’s mining ministry against The Voice Weekly for reporting graft allegations was dropped, in the latest sign of easing pressure on the nation’s long-muzzled media.

The Burmese Parliament has officially dissolved the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division; the decision finalises an August 2012 motion to lift the policy of prior censorship on all publications, a draconian regulation that had been in place since 1964.