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Myanmar, Kachin rebels agree tentative peace pact

Agence France-PresseMay 30, 2013 09:16
Myanmar on Thursday reached a tentative peace deal with ethnic minority Kachin rebels aimed at ending the country's last major active civil war, which has displaced tens of thousands of people. Kachin and government representatives, meeting on home soil for the first time since fighting flared up two years ago, signed a seven-point plan to end hostilities in the remote northern region. "I think we have achieved a breakthrough," said negotiator Min Zaw Oo, a director of the EU-funded Myanmar Peace Center who took part in the talks in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina.

Myanmar, Kachin rebels agree ceasefire

Agence France-PresseMay 30, 2013 07:22
Myanmar on Thursday reached a preliminary ceasefire deal with ethnic minority Kachin rebels, the last major armed group to agree to stop fighting after decades of civil war, a negotiator said. Meeting on home soil for the first time since the conflict flared up again in 2011, Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and government representatives signed a seven-point plan including a vow to halt hostilities that have displaced tens of thousands of people, Min Zaw Oo told AFP.

Myanmar, Kachin rebels agree ceasefire

Agence France-PresseMay 30, 2013 06:38
Myanmar on Thursday reached a preliminary ceasefire agreement with ethnic minority Kachin rebels, an official peace negotiator said, after two years of fighting that has sparked international concern. Meeting on home soil for the first time since the conflict flared up in 2011, Kachin and government representatives signed a seven-point plan which includes an agreement "to stop fighting", Min Zaw Oo told AFP. klm/dr/sm

Myanmar's powerful Wa rebels seek a state of their own

Agence France-PresseMay 28, 2013 01:36
Myanmar's most heavily-armed and powerful rebel group has said it is looking to carve out a legitimate state, as experts say it is flexing its muscles amid tense relations with the government. The United Wa State Army, which commands an estimated 30,000 troops, holds sway over a remote mountainous area on the northeast border with China that is believed to be awash with drugs and has long been aloof from central Myanmar control.

U.S. lifts more sanctions on Myanmar to support reforms

May 7, 2013 11:32
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday lifted another set of sanctions against Myanmar to support reforms in the formerly army-ruled country, while retaining visa and investment bans against individuals accused of human rights abuses. The Obama administration decided that a 1996 ban on granting U.S. entry visas to the former Burma's military rulers, their business partners and immediate families was no longer necessary after two years of reforms, the State Department said in a statement.

U.S. lifts more sanctions on Myanmar to support reforms

May 7, 2013 11:32
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday lifted another set of sanctions against Myanmar to support reforms in the formerly army-ruled country, while retaining visa and investment bans against individuals accused of human rights abuses. The Obama administration decided that a 1996 ban on granting U.S. entry visas to the former Burma's military rulers, their business partners and immediate families was no longer necessary after two years of reforms, the State Department said in a statement.

Police arrest two in new anti-Muslim unrest in Myanmar

Agence France-PresseMay 4, 2013 03:00
Two Buddhists have been arrested after Muslim shops were destroyed in northern Kachin State, police said Saturday, in a new outbreak of religious violence. Myanmar is in the grip of acute religious tension after a deadly wave of unrest in March that saw monks and Buddhist mobs attack Muslim areas in violence that has edged towards the country's main city Yangon.

One dead after fresh Myanmar anti-Muslim riots

Agence France-PresseMay 1, 2013 01:15
One person was killed and nine injured after mobs attacked mosques and burned homes in central Myanmar, authorities said Wednesday, in the latest religious unrest to erupt in the nation. Riots sparked Tuesday in the small town of Oakkan, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Yangon after a woman accidentally knocked into a young monk, authorities said, amid acute Buddhist-Muslim tensions following a series of attacks in March. "A man died in hospital of his injuries this morning," a police official told AFP.

Myanmar frees dozens of political prisoners

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 09:46
Myanmar on Tuesday pardoned dozens of political prisoners, activists said, a day after the European Union agreed to end almost all sanctions against the former pariah state. At least 59 political prisoners were included in the latest amnesty, Bo Kyi of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) told AFP. "More than 200 political prisoners are still in prison," he added. "Political prisoners should be recognised as political prisoners and be released unconditionally."

Myanmar frees dozens of political prisoners

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 09:16
Myanmar on Tuesday pardoned dozens of political prisoners, activists said, a day after the European Union agreed to end almost all sanctions against the former pariah state. At least 59 political prisoners were included in the latest amnesty, Bo Kyi of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) told AFP. "More than 200 political prisoners are still in prison," he added. "Political prisoners should be recognised as political prisoners and be released unconditionally."
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