quotes

—Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, speaking at the Irrawaddy Literary Festival in Yangon

—Myanmar Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Myint Hlaing during a meeting with farmers

—Lt-Gen Yawd Serk, the head of the Restoration Council of Shan State during Shan State National Day

—Vijay Nambiar, the UN secretary general’s special adviser on Myanmar, during a visit to Kachin State

Shadows of doubt loom over Kachin peace talks

Myanmar’s Former Supremo Still ‘Interested in Politics’

Myanmar’s retired military leader U Than Shwe still follows domestic politics with interest but he no longer seeks any influence, said Union Solidarity and Development Party Vice-chairman U Htay

Phosphorus Used in Protest Raid, Investigation Finds

Oo. The former senior-general continues to follow Myanmar’s political transition, as he had personally planned the roadmap from military rule to quasi-civilian government and the 2015 elections, according to U Htay Oo. “Of course, he is interested in politics as he was the leader of the country. It is certain that he wants the [political] system that he established to be successful,” the USDP official said recently. Snr-Gen Than Shwe was the leader of Myanmar’s military junta from 1992 to 2011.

highly flammable chemical is often used for military purposes to illuminate areas or to create smoke. The findings sparked outrage among activists and injured protesters.

Myanmar Hosts First Intl Literary Festival

An independent investigation into a raid that injured dozens of protesters who opposed a copper mine in northwest Myanmar in November found that police shot canisters containing white phosphorus into the crowd. “Our team went to Bangkok after collecting materials from the crackdown and laboratory tests found phosphorus on it,” said U Thein Than Oo, the head of the legal committee of the Upper Myanmar Lawyers Network. The

Renowned writers from around the world met with local authors and readers in Yangon in the first week of February for Myanmar’s first-ever international literary festival. Organized under the patronage of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the English-language Irrawaddy Literary Festival brought together at least 120 local authors and about 25 international writers, including Chinese-born British author Jung Chang, Indian novelists Vikram Seth and Sudha Shah, and Irish writer and former

BBC correspondent Fergal Keane. Historian Thant Myint-U and best-selling author Pascal Khoo Thwe were among the local authors in attendance.

Myanmar, Foreign Donors Sign Aid Accord

Representatives of the international community met with President U Thein Sein in Naypyitaw on Jan. 20 to sign an agreement that outlines how hundreds of millions of dollars in donor aid will flow into Myanmar in coming years. The government and donor countries, aid agencies and international development banks signed the so-called Naypyitaw Accord, a non-binding agreement that sets out guidelines on governmentdonor cooperation. The government, for instance, agreed to maintain a high-level dialogue with the donors about its development policies. Donors for their part agreed to “align assistance” projects with government policies in fields such as education, health and poverty reduction.

Myanmar Gets Huge Debt Relief

Foreign creditor countries in January slashed more than US $6 billion from Myanmar’s outstanding loans. Japan, Norway and several other countries cut the debt in response to the ongoing political and socio-economic reforms under President U Thein Sein. Japan cut $3.6 billion of the debt to support “democratization, national reconciliation, and economic reforms” in the country. It also provided Myanmar with bridge loans so that it could pay its arrears to the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. In response, the banks offered Myanmar $900 million in fresh loans.

Aid to Rohingya Camps in Rakhine Blocked: Relief Group

Medical aid group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said government forces and local leaders in Rakhine State in western Myanmar continue to block access to Rohingya Muslim camps. As a result, the displaced are suffering and at times dying from preventable diseases. MSF said in February that the villagers were being confined to sites without access to health care, clean water or sanitation. Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva said that thousands of people fled Rakhine State and neighboring Bangladesh in January. Since June 2012, inter-communal violence between Rakhine Buddhist groups and Rohingya Muslims has flared up repeatedly, killing scores of people and displacing 110,000 villagers.

Bans on Public Gathering, Critical Speeches Lifted

President U Thein Sein in January repealed two repressive laws that were introduced during Myanmar’s previous military regime. He revoked Order No. 5/96 that was used to stifle public speeches and sentence dissidents to long terms in prison. Introduced in 1996, it provided for up to 20 years imprisonment for anyone who criticized the government in speeches or written statements. U Thein Sein also abolished Order No. 2/88, which banned public gatherings of more than five people. This order was first promulgated on the day the military junta seized power in 1988.

New Committee to ‘Grant Liberty’ to Political Prisoners

In its first public use of the term “political prisoner,” Myanmar’s state media announced on Feb. 7 that a new committee would be formed by the President’s Office to identify political detainees “so as to grant them liberty.” The new committee, to be headed by President’s Office Minister U Soe Thane, will include government officials and representatives from civil society groups and some political parties. Since taking power nearly two years ago, President U Thein Sein has ordered the release of thousands of prisoners, including many political detainees. According to rights groups, a total of around 236 political prisoners remain behind bars in Myanmar.

Philippines Hope Their Cardinal Could Be Pope

With attention turning from Europe to the “new” world, worshippers in the Philippines prayed