# Myanmar takes further progressive steps



## Tommy Tainant (Mar 3, 2016)

In a gloomy world this story is a small sign that things are moving along ok.

‘First public gay wedding’ takes place in Burma


----------



## The Great Goose (Mar 3, 2016)

Not that gayness offers anything but pain


----------



## waltky (Mar 9, 2016)

Presidency is not where the real power is in Myanmar

*Aung San Suu Kyi will not become Myanmar's next president*
_10 Mar.`16  — It's now official, Myanmar's most famous politician and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi will not become the country's next president._


> The National League for Democracy party, which won November general elections by a landslide, nominated two Suu Kyi loyalists to contest the president's post Thursday. They are 70-year-old Oxford graduate Htin Kyaw and Henry Van Hti Yu, an ethnic Chin minority and upper house NLD lawmaker.  One of them is certain to become the next president and the other will become a vice president. And a military-backed candidate who has not yet been announced will likely become the country's other vice president.  The outgoing ruling party, the USDP, also nominated two candidates but the Suu Kyi loyalists are assured of a victory when the joint chambers vote later this month.  The new government takes power April 1. It will be the first freely elected government after more than 50 years of military rule followed by a quasi-civilian government for the past five years.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



See also:

*Aung San Suu Kyi: Power not presidency in Myanmar*
_Wed, 09 Mar 2016 - Aung San Suu Kyi won't become president of Myanmar, but she she has tightened her grip on political power nonetheless, says Jonah Fisher._


> But as parliament puts forward its nominations for the top job, the situation is clear: there will be no last-minute deal, no President Suu Kyi.  Those expecting a Nelson Mandela ending to this incredible story will be disappointed. But for Suu Kyi and her many supporters little has actually been lost.  This anticlimactic outcome strengthens her politically and diminishes the military in the eyes of the Burmese people.  The generals' inflexibility, in the face of a huge popular mandate, has set the tone for what looks likely to be a period of confrontation between them and the newly elected democrats.
> 
> It was in November last year that Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), swept the board in the long-awaited general election.  The NLD won nearly 80% of the contested seats and everyone, even the army, agreed that the Burmese people had not just voted for change, they had voted for Suu Kyi to lead.  Emboldened by the result, the former political prisoner reached out to her long-time adversaries. In the past four months she has held three meetings with Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing. Suu Kyi was exploring the possibility of a grand deal.
> 
> ...



Related:

*Myanmar's NLD names Suu Kyi confidant as presidential candidate*
_Thu Mar 10, 2016 - Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) has proposed a close friend of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as its presidential candidate, ending a four-month wait for the identity of a president expected to rule in her name._


> The NLD put forward Htin Kyaw, who joined the party just two months ago, as its lower house candidate. He runs a charity founded by Suu Kyi and has been close to her since the mid-1990s.  The wildly popular Suu Kyi and the NLD won a crushing electoral victory in November, but she is barred from holding the presidency under a junta-drafted 2008 constitution because her children are not Myanmar citizens.  Suu Kyi has said that she would run the country regardless through a proxy. Until Thursday, she and the NLD leadership had kept the identity of their nominee a closely guarded secret even from rank-and-file MPs.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## waltky (Mar 30, 2016)

Democratically elected Myanmar President sworn in...

*Myanmar takes big step toward democracy*
_March 30, 2016 - New civilian president sworn in, military rule ends_


> Myanmar’s slow transition to democracy took a momentous step Wednesday as a trusted aide to ruling-party leader Aung San Suu Kyi took over as the country’s president, officially ending more than 50 years of the military’s control over government.  In a day full of ceremony and symbolism, Htin Kyaw was sworn in along with his two vice presidents and 18 Cabinet ministers. Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace laureate and face of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement, takes on a prominent role as the country’s new foreign minister and the head of three other ministries — education, energy and the presidential office.  “The Union Parliament has elected me as president, which is a historic moment for this country,” Htin Kyaw, 70, said in a speech after being sworn in. He pledged to work toward national reconciliation, strive for peace with warring ethnic rebels and improve the lives of Myanmar’s 54 million people.
> 
> While it was a historic day for the impoverished Southeast Asian country, democracy remains incomplete. The military retains considerable power in the government and parliament, and the president himself will play second fiddle to Suu Kyi. She cannot be president because of a constitutional manipulation engineered by the military, and has repeatedly said she will run the country from behind the scenes.  “I am very happy that we have a president who represents people,” said Mar Thin, a 50-year-old street cleaner. She said she used to own 70 acres of land that she and her sister inherited from their father before the military kicked them out and appropriated the land for the defense ministry.  “I hope that the new government can solve the land-confiscation problem and let us own our land as farmers. All we want is enough food, and to live without fear. I hope that President Htin Kyaw will do that for us because Daw Suu promised us a lot of things, and we love her, too,” Mar Thin said, using an affectionate term for Suu Kyi.
> 
> ...



See also:

*Myanmar swears in first president with no army ties in 54 years*
_Mar. 30, 2016 - Members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s victorious National League for Democracy (NLD) were in tears on Wednesday as Myanmar swore in its first president with no military ties in more than half a century._


> Htin Kyaw, a close friend and confidant of the Nobel peace prize laureate, was hand-picked by her to run Myanmar’s government because a constitution drafted by the former junta bars the democracy champion from the top office.  In a short address to the chamber, Htin Kyaw reiterated Suu Kyi’s stance on the importance of changing the 2008 charter, which entrenches the military’s powerful position in politics, and called for national reconciliation.
> 
> NLD lawmakers were emotional at the scale of the achievement after decades of struggle, including years when many of them were jailed or, like Suu Kyi herself, put under house arrest.  “I couldn’t sleep last night. Our president U Htin Kyaw’s speech is something we have never heard before in the country,” NLD lawmaker Thiri Yadana, 28, said.  “He promised that he will work for the country with the respect to our leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It’s such a big step and this has happened because everybody pushed together forward.”
> 
> ...


----------



## Tommy Tainant (Mar 31, 2016)

Its a pity she has come out as a racist bitch.


----------



## waltky (Apr 9, 2016)

Myanmar political prisoners freed...

*Big win for human rights in Myanmar, political prisoners, activists freed*
_Sunday 10th April, 2016  - Authorities in Myanmar have released 69 student activists along with several other political prisoners who were jailed for more than a year without any trial._


> Announcing the release, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said that 113 political detainees were freed across the country. The student activists were reportedly imprisoned after protesting against the education policy and demanding new reforms in the academic department on March 2015.  Tharrawaddy Township Judge Chit Myat made the announcement of release a day after an amnesty request by the nation’s de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. “In this time of the Burmese New Year, we will release political prisoners and activists and students who are facing charges as soon as possible,” said the nation’s leader a day before the release.
> 
> The previous government led by military power or junta in 2011 put Suu Kyi under house arrest and hundreds of her supporters and other critics were jailed.  Suu Kyi holds the post of state counselor, a specially created position. She is the de facto head of government as Myanmar’s army drafted constitution does not allow her to be the president as her sons acquires British citizenship. She then declared to run the government by being “above the president” after her party’s approval.
> 
> ...


----------



## waltky (May 19, 2016)

Some Myanmar Sanctions Lifted...
*



*
*US Eases Some Myanmar Sanctions*
_ May 17, 2016 — The Obama administration is further easing financial sanctions on Myanmar to support the nation's political reforms and economic growth, and to facilitate U.S. trade with the country also known as Burma. The United States is continuing other measures, however, in an effort to thwart human rights abuses and military trade with North Korea._


> Senior officials made the announcement Tuesday, ahead of Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit Sunday to Naypyidaw.  Seven state-owned Myanmar enterprises and three state-owned banks are being removed from the blacklist, according to the amendments by the Treasury Department in consultation with the State Department.  Other regulatory amendments include a general license to authorize trade-related transactions and personal transactions related to Americans residing in Myanmar. Those changes are intended to facilitate trade and the movement of goods within Myanmar.
> 
> Military sanctions retained
> 
> ...


​


----------



## waltky (Jul 1, 2016)

Report failed to mention progress and development made...




*Myanmar ‘sad’ over its demotion on US trafficking blacklist*
_Sat, Jul 02, 2016 - Myanmar called sad and regrettable a move by the US to place the country on a list of the world’s worst human-trafficking offenders._


> The demotion came on Thursday when the US Department of State released its annual Trafficking in Persons report, which examines 188 governments’ efforts in combating modern-day slavery.  It placed Myanmar alongside countries like Iran, North Korea and Syria, and says the Southeast Asian country has failed to meet “the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.”  It also removed Thailand from the blacklist, despite what the State Department described as widespread forced labor in the country’s seafood industry.  The downgrade for Myanmar appeared aimed at sending a message to the country’s government, headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, and its still-powerful military to curb use of forced labor, sex trafficking and the recruitment of children as soldiers into the armed forces.
> 
> Aung Sun Suu Kyi has been criticized for failing to address widespread persecution of the nation’s Rohingya Muslim minority.  Her government criticized the demotion as failing to recognize the country’s progress.  “We are very sad that we have not been recognized for making positive changes,” Burmese presidential spokesman Zaw Htay said. “In their report, they didn’t mention the progress and development we have made for our country.”  The Burmese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the downgrade “regrettable” and urged the US not to impose restrictions that would hamper US-Myanmar relations.
> 
> ...



See also:

*Myanmar frees Buddhist monk who led Saffron Revolution, drops charges*
_July 1, 2016  -- A former Buddhist monk and activist who led the 2007 Saffron Revolution was released from prison Friday after last-minute criminal charges against him were dropped._


> Nyi Nyi Lwin, better known by his ordination name U Gambira, was serving a six-month sentence after being convicted in January for crossing from Thailand into Myanmar without the proper documentation. Just before his scheduled release of July 1, the courts levied additional charges against him stemming from a 2012 alleged trespassing incident. If convicted on the new charges, his prison sentence would have been extended.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## waltky (Oct 8, 2016)

Myanmar sanctions lifted...




*Obama formally lifts US’ Myanmar sanctions*
_Sun, Oct 09, 2016 - US President Barack Obama on Friday formally announced the lifting of US sanctions on Myanmar by terminating an emergency order that deemed the policies of the former military government a threat to US national security._


> “I have determined that the situation that gave rise to the national emergency ... has been significantly altered by Burma’s [Myanmar’s] substantial advances to promote democracy, including historic elections in November 2015,” Obama said in a letter to the US House and Senate speakers.  A US Department of the Treasury statement said that as a result of the termination of the emergency order the economic and financial sanctions administered by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control were no longer in effect.  The move followed a meeting between Burmese State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Obama in Washington last month, when she called for the lifting of economic sanctions against her country, and he said he was willing to do this.
> 
> Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won a sweeping victory in the November elections last year.  Obama’s letter pointed to the formation of a democratically elected, civilian-led government as a result of the election, the release of many political prisoners and improved human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and freedom of association and peaceful assembly.  “While Burma [Myanmar] faces significant challenges, including the consolidation of its democracy, the United States can, and intends to, use other means to support the government and people of Burma in their efforts to address these challenges,” Obama’s letter said.
> 
> ...



See also:

*White House ends 19 years of U.S. sanctions against Myanmar*
_Oct. 7, 2016 | WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- For almost two decades, the United States has maintained a state of emergency against Myanmar, but that designation was finally removed Friday by President Barack Obama._


> The president formally dissolved the sanctions due to the Pacific nation's transition from a militant regime to more of an American ally.  Obama, in his order ending the 19-year state of emergency against the nation also known as Burma, said last year's democratic elections played a major part in the decision.
> 
> The emergency was imposed in 1997 by former President Bill Clinton and strengthened a decade later by the subsequent Bush administration. Clinton's act came eight years after martial law was declared in the country and Washington imposed strict trade restrictions.  The thawing of the declaration began about four years ago when Obama visited the country and met with democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, who is now Myanmar's state counselor.
> 
> ...


----------



## waltky (Jul 3, 2017)

Freedom of the press 'under threat' in new Myanmar...




*Press freedom 'under threat' in new Myanmar*
_Mon, 03 Jul 2017: Three reporters charged under colonial-era law in latest case to spark outcry in media community._


> Under the military junta that ruled Myanmar for nearly 50 years, the media were tightly controlled.  But after a quasi-civilian government took over in 2011, many curbs were lifted and a rigid censorship regime abolished.  Journalists were among masses of political prisoners released, and media outlets mushroomed to serve a highly literate population that had been starved of independent news.  When the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Laureate kept under house arrest for years because of her democratic activism, won historic elections in 2015, many expected more media freedom would follow.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------

