Mizzima News

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.

Burmese police arrested five Buddhist monks, accusing them of involvement in a demonstration on 12 December when activists and monks marched through Rangoon to protest a police crackdown at a controversial copper mining project.

A former Burmese monk, one of the leaders of the Saffron Revolution, may have been detained out of fear he will play a pivotal role in protests in the wake of a violent police crackdown at a copper mine site.

More than 80 people, including a number of Buddhist monks, were injured after riot police violently cracked down on a “sit-in” in front of the offices of a Chinese copper mine company.

The owner of a Burmese fish farm has filed charges against two reporters and a representative of the International Labour Organization for their attempts to gather information on a dispute with local farmers.