Mr Stephen J. Adler, President and Editor-in-Chief of Reuters has expressed his disappointment that two of his company’s Myanmar reporters are being prosecuted under the antiquated Official Secrets Act. His press statement, released on January 10 following the appearance of the two journalists in court, is as follows: “We are extremely disappointed that the authorities seek to prosecute Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo under Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act. We view this as a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom. Our colleagues should be allowed to return to their jobs reporting on events in Myanmar. We believe time is of the essence and we continue to call for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo’s prompt release,” he said. http://www.mizzima.com/news-domestic/reuters-chief-expresses-dismay-decision-prosecute-two-reuters-reporters

Two Reuters journalists were formally charged by police in a Myanmar court Wednesday for breaching a colonial-era secrecy law that carries up to 14 years in jail, despite calls for their immediate release. Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were arrested a month ago under the Official Secrets Act after they allegedly were given classified documents by two policemen over dinner. The pair had been reporting on the military campaign in the northern Rakhine state that has forced some 655,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee over the border to Bangladesh since August, violence the UN has condemned as ethnic cleansing. The issue is incendiary inside Myanmar, where authorities deny any wrongdoing during an army crackdown on terrorists from the Muslim minority. A police officer "filed the case to charge under the state secret (Official Secrets) act, section 3.1(c)," a district judge told the court. The section punishes anyone who "obtains, collects, records...

Having been remanded for a second 14-day period at a hearing last month, the case of two  Reuters journalists began in earnest on Wednesday at Yangon’s Northern District Court, with the prosecution confirming that charges under Burma’s Official Secrets Act would be brought against them. The two reporters, Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27,  were detained in Yangon  by Burmese authorities on 12 December, allegedly in possession of sensitive government documents. The pair face up to 14 years’ imprisonment under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act. Ahead of the hearing Wednesday, Burmese journalists gathered outside the courthouse — several wearing black T-shirts that read “Journalism is not a crime” — in protest of the two men’s detention. Others held banners calling for their immediate release. Than Zaw Aung, a lawyer for the two arrested journalists, said a bail petition had been submitted and that the defence would be given an opportunity to argue the case for ...

Two Reuters journalists were formally charged by police in a Myanmar court Wednesday for breaching a colonial-era secrecy law that carries up to 14 years in jail, despite calls for their immediate release. Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were arrested a month ago under the Official Secrets Act after they allegedly were given classified documents by two policemen over dinner. The pair had been reporting on the military campaign in the northern Rakhine state that has forced some 655,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee over the border to Bangladesh since August, violence the UN has condemned as ethnic cleansing. The issue is incendiary inside Myanmar, where authorities deny any wrongdoing during an army crackdown on terrorists from the Muslim minority. A police officer "filed the case to charge under the state secret (Official Secrets) act, section 3.1(c)," a district judge told the court. The section punishes anyone who "obtains, collects, recor...

Maj. Naing Maung Zaw from Border Guard Force (BGF) confirmed to Mizzima that combined troops of Karen National Union (KNU) and BGF were fighting fiercely against the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), in Hlaingbwe Township, Karen State. “We have been fighting with them fiercely for over a month. Our combined troops have overrun their outposts. We have had intermittent fighting and sporadic firing until today. The place we are fighting is called Tharbawthae which is in dense forest full of valleys and ravines,” he said. Maj. Naing Maung Zaw added that a combined force of government troops, the 7th Brigade Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and BGF were fighting with them near the Hatgyi dam site in Maethaewaw.  “We have being fighting with them for a long time after they launched an attack on our outpost. They frequently broke their promises. We have to retaliate after they launched repeated attacks on our positions,” he added. Maj. Naing Maung Zaw further s...

By SAI NYUNT LWIN 8 January 2018 It was Jan. 4, 2018. As it was also the 70th anniversary of Myanmar’s independence, I could not help thinking about my days in prison. Independence Day is one of the special occasions each and every prisoner looks forward to with high hopes. That is because of a custom of granting amnesty to prisoners and reducing jail sentences on every anniversary. Everyone who has had to spend part of his or her life in prison knows how it feels. Prisoners cannot help feeling grateful to the government when they see some of their fellow inmates walk out of prison on such occasions, even if they themselves are not released. It is a fine practice among prisoners, despite being anti-government activists, to praise and thank the government for granting them amnesty. Such days give hope to all types of prisoners. It is also a common practice among prisoners as these days approach to ask prison authorities for any unusual news from the outside. All inmates loo...

Myanmar's military has used heavy weapons to overrun remote rebel camps in northern Kachin state, the army said Friday, as a seasonal offensive ramps up the long-running conflict. A separate military campaign in Rakhine state, which has forced 655,000 Rohingya Muslims over the border into Bangladesh, has dominated global attention. But the conflict in Kachin, a mainly Christian state in the Buddhist-majority country, has rumbled on away from international headlines and fighting is again intensifying now that monsoon rains have ended. The army -- or Tatmadaw -- said it had gained the upper hand after seizing 22 camps of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) since mid-November and blocking off a key timber smuggling route to China. Heavy weapons were used Thursday to attack hillside camps as the army killed "some enemies" and seized arms and ammunition, according to a statement posted on Facebook by the office of commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing. "Tatmada...

Police in southwest China's Yunnan Province destroyed a cross-border drug trafficking network, arresting 14 suspects and seizing over 130 kg of methamphetamine, according to Global Times on January 4.  Three suspects from east China's Jiangxi Province who purchased drugs in Myanmar to sell in China were caught, along with 68.9 kg of methamphetamine, in September, said police in Changning County, Baoshan City, according to the report just released.  On December 11, police arrested seven suspects in the provinces of Yunnan, Guangdong and Jiangxi on the same day and seized another 62.3 kg of drugs.  The other four suspects, including a Myanmar drug dealer, were arrested in Yunnan on December. 22. Courtesy of Global Times

By CHIT MIN TUN 5 January 2018 YANGON—Over 1,200 residents of three villages in northern Shan State have fled to Kyaukme Township and Mongngaw Sub-township to escape fighting between the Myanmar Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). The clashes erupted on Dec. 27 on the border of Kyaukme and Namhsan townships. Tensions between the Army and the TNLA remain high, according to local community-based organizations. “Social organizations from Lashio, Namhsan and Kutkai townships as well as a Kyaukme-based committee for displaced persons have distributed relief supplies,” Ko Thar Zaw, a volunteer helping displaced persons in Kyaukme, told The Irrawaddy. “We don’t know how many days the displaced persons will have to shelter here, or whether there will be additional needs,” he added. The Department of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is also providing emergency aid to displaced persons. “We’ve provided nine items of emergency aid to over 300 households. They...

Myanmar president U Htin Kyaw. Photo: Myanmar President Office Myanmar's civilian president called in an Independence Day speech on Thursday for reform of a military-drafted constitution and for justice for all recognized minorities under a federal system. Amending the charter to remove a dominant political role for the military has been one of the most contentious issues facing Myanmar as it emerges from nearly half a century of strict army rule. "As we build the Democratic Federal Republic, in accordance with the results of the political dialogues, we all need to work collectively for creating a suitable constitution," President Htin Kyaw said in his speech marking the 70th anniversary of Myanmar's independence from Britain. Htin Kyaw's post is largely ceremonial but he is a close ally of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. He did not elaborate on what he meant by suitable or spell out why he was suggesting the 2008 constitution dr...

By NYAN SOE WIN 5 January 2018 THATON, Mon State — Mon State Chief Minister U Aye Zan has told the residents of Thaton Township to “eat only a dish of curry” at mealtime in order to bring down food prices. The chief minister said food prices would decline if every household ate only a dish of curry at their dining tables when he and other officials met with locals on Wednesday. After the officials made their speeches, locals were allowed to ask questions. “I’d like to know if the government can adjust the prices of food including rice, oil, salt and onions and general consumer goods to an appropriate level,” said U Aye Myint. “Our country is poor. We should only eat a dish of curry. If we don’t go to tea shops and only eat a dish of curry in our homes, won’t the food prices decline?” the minister replied. When U Aye Myint answered “yes,” the minister added: “If so, it would be the best. Do you think a law can be enacted to require people to do so?” “It is easy to bring ...

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) said today that government forces have launched assaults on several positions across Kachin State, including rounds of artillery directed near the Kachin army’s headquarters at Laiza on the Sino-Burmese border. Speaking to  DVB  by telephone earlier, KIA spokesperson Dau Kha said that the Burmese military started shelling its positions near Laiza before Christmas Day, however the assault ceased over this weekend. “I think the  Tatmadaw  [Burmese military] are just biding their time before they attack us again. I don’t think they will stop until they achieve their goal,” he said, without elaborating on what he believed the military’s objective might be. The Kachin army spokesman also reported renewed fighting between government units and the KIA in the Kachin townships of Tanai and Hpakant since 30 December. He said the fighting in Tanai Township is focused on an area near local amber mining projects. Dau Kha said that t...

By HTET NAING ZAW 3 January 2018 NAYPYITAW — The President’s Office on Tuesday denied rumors that State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been paralyzed and said it was investigating the source of the claims. “She is not paralyzed. She is performing her duties healthily. She has recently undergone a medical checkup,” U Zaw Htay, spokesman for the President’s Office, told The Irrawaddy Tuesday evening. “Except for her eye operation [in April], everything is good. And she is always careful with her lifestyle to keep healthy,” he added. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi hosted a public peace talk, the fifth of its kind, in Karenni State on Friday and returned to Naypyitaw the same day. She has not been seen in public since. The Myanmar Herald reported that rumors that the state counselor had been paralyzed started to spread among astrologers and some politicians on Sunday evening. U Zaw Htay said she was back at her office on Tuesday, after the New Year’s holiday. By Wednesday morning...

By MOE MOE 3 January 2018 NAYPYITAW — There were 116 casualties on the Yangon-Mandalay Highway in 2017, according to the highway traffic police force. There were a total of 555 road accidents in which 116 people were killed and 863 were injured. Private cars were responsible for most of the traffic accidents, according to traffic police. The number of road accidents and casualties, however, has declined compared to 2016, which saw 774 road accidents with 170 fatalities and 1,304 people injured. “The main cause of road accidents is speeding,” said police officer Soe Win of the highway police force. As of June 1 last year, traffic police have required drivers and passengers of either private vehicles or express buses to wear seat belts while driving on the highway. More than 20,000 vehicles use the some 400-mile highway daily and there are around seven road accidents a day, said the highway traffic police force. The highway, which connects commercial hub Yangon, administr...

By AUNG ZAW 3 January 2018 Seven decades after Burma freed itself from colonial rule, true freedom, prosperity and independence remain elusive for Myanmar, as foreign powers compete for influence and powerful military rulers continue to exert their grip. On the 70th anniversary of independence, we reexamine these issues by revisiting our cover story, originally titled “Independence Lost”, from The Irrawaddy’s January 2008 issue. When Gen Sir Harry North Dalrymple Prendergast led his gunboats up the Irrawaddy River to Mandalay in November 1885, King Thibaw and his army were ill-equipped to defend the city, let alone protect the nation. The last Burmese monarch, who was 28 years old and had hardly ever been outside the confines of his palace, was quickly shipped into exile. Burma, a country that had in its recent history expanded to conquer neighboring countries, had lost not only its king, but its independence. Thibaw and his queen were quietly escorted onto the steamer Thoore...