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2 NMSP soldiers killed and 3 arrested in clash with Burmese military

HURFOM: Reports have emerged of a clash between Burmese military and New Mon State Party (NMSP) forces in Tenasserim Division, killing 2 members of the Mon armed group and a Burmese military sergeant. With the Burmese military alleged to have initiated the attack, the move breaks a ceasefire between the two groups that, aside from a period of renegotiation from 2010 to 2012, has spanned the last 18 years. Read more

Beyond the male: The case for a gender analysis of illicit drugs in Burma

WCRP: On June 26, Burma’s anti-narcotics task force marked the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking by destroying over 4.4 billion kyat worth of illegal drugs. This move, along with others aimed at rehabilitating drug users and developing alternative crops for poppy farmers, seems fitting in light of recent international recognition of the country’s drug problems. In the past year Burma has been named by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as the world’s second largest producer of opium and the “top source of illicit methamphetamine pills in East and Southeast Asia.” Read more

Tier 2 Watch List mirrors real incidence of trafficking on the border

WCRP: In February of this year, a Mon broker from Mudon Township coerced Mi Nu (an alias) and her two young children to migrate to Thailand. He explained to her that she would be placed as a domestic worker and that the job would be easier than alternatives like construction or factory work. She believed the broker and left with him and her children for Thailand. Since that day, Mi Nu has had no contact with her relatives or neighbors and the broker has not been seen again. Read more

Education reform remains elusive

WCRP: In March 2011, President U Thein Sein gave a speech to parliament urging improvements to the national education system. He called for implementing a system of free, compulsory primary schooling, upgrading the country’s educational standards to international levels, and increasing enrollment in basic education. Changes have thereby been made in the last few years that ostensibly liberated students and their families to freely pursue education. According to education officials, registration fees have been waived, textbooks are provided free of charge, and the local administrators’ practice of collecting “donations” to buy school equipment (for everything from the headmaster’s chair to a football for the schoolyard) was targeted for elimination. Read more

Ethnic armed groups also guilty of land confiscation: The case of Kha Yone Gu

HURFOM: In recent months Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has been tracking various cases of land confiscation, some of which took place years ago but have only now come to light. So far, published documentation has focussed on confiscations perpetrated by the Burmese military, local authorities and private companies working on government projects. However, field reporters have noted that numerous ethnic armed groups have also been involved in land seizures in Mon areas. Residents have accused ethnic armed groups of taking advantage of the on-going peace process to further their own interests, with the government giving groups involved in 2012 ceasefires the authority to take land from residents.   Read more

TPP slot machine seizures fail to result in further action

HURFOM: Gambling has continued to plague the Thai-Burma border sub-township of Three Pagodas Pass (TPP). In what looked like a promising move, local police forces recently seized 9 slot machines from TPP’s Quarter No. 3. However, the machines were returned to their owners shortly afterwards. Residents have expressed concerns, saying that they want the gambling to stop. Read more