Shan State Earthquake Victims in Need of Urgent Relief Effort

On 24 March, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Loimwe, Shan State, causing many deaths and significant destruction to homes and buildings in the area. Affected communities are in great need of humanitarian assistance as they begin to address the damage and rebuild their lives. It is imperative that Burma’s regime and local authorities facilitate the delivery of timely and unimpeded relief in a transparent manner.

As of 27 March, state-run media was reporting the official death toll from the quake as 74. However, eyewitness reports suggested that more than 150 people were killed. Many of the casualties are from Tarlay, where almost every building was damaged and many collapsed. The quake destroyed at least 240 buildings, including houses and monasteries [...]

Burma Dashes Asean and UN Hopes of Disaster Cooperation

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the United Nations are trying to put a brave face on their joint efforts over the past two years to coax the Burmese government into accepting international aid and allowing unfettered access to areas hit by natural disasters.

Many analysts believe, however, that there is no long-term commitment on the part of the Burmese leaders to change their inward looking mentality and obsessive fear of foreigners [...]

Let’s strongly oppose the 2010 Election which will make the 2008 Constitution come into operation!

All the people of Burma including Monks, Students and Youths,

1. The day of 27th May 2010 will mark 20th anniversary of 1990 Election in which the people representatives overwhelmingly won a landslide victory. The results of that election is interpreted as that of the Burmese people’s ongoing struggle for democracy begin with the 1988 prodemocracy movements, by truly expressing of their determination.[...]

After Cyclone, Repress Impedes Civil Society and Aid

Humanitarian Space Across Country Again Narrowing Ahead of 2010 Polls

The Burmese government continues to deny basic freedoms and place undue restrictions on aid agencies despite significant gains in rehabilitating areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis two years ago, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today [...]

“I Want to Help My Own People”

State Control and Civil Society in Burma after Cyclone Nargis

This 102-page report based on 135 interviews with cyclone survivors, aid workers, and other eyewitnesses, details the Burmese military government’s response to Nargis and its implications for human rights and development in Burma today. The report describes the government’s attempts to block assistance in the desperate three weeks after the cyclone [...]

Community-Based Assessment of Human Rights in a Complex Humanitarian Emergency: the Emergency Assistance Teams-Burma and Cyclone Nargis

Cyclone Nargis hit Burma on May 2, 2008, killing over 138,000 and affecting at least 2.4 million people. The Burmese military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), initially blocked international aid to storm victims, forcing community-based organizations such as the Emergency Assistance Teams-Burma (EAT) to fill the void, helping with cyclone relief and long-term reconstruction. Recognizing the need for independent monitoring of the human rights situation in cyclone-affected areas, particularly given censorship over storm relief coverage, EAT initiated such documentation efforts [...]

ASEAN to Accelerate Aid Delivery to Cylone-Nargis Affected Population

ASEAN will accelerate aid delivery to Myanmar’s Cyclone-Nargis affected population and hand over the coordination structure for post-Nargis recovery efforts to the Government of Myanmar as it prepares to complete its humanitarian operations in the country in July 2010. The decision was made at the 7th Meeting of the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force (AHTF) held in Ha Noi today. [...]

Myanmar cyclone survivors haunted by lack of work and shelter

Almost two years after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar’s Irrawaddy delta, killing nearly 140,000 and leaving 2.4 million destitute, survivors are still struggling to recover their livelihoods and many are living without adequate shelter, a report released on Tuesday in Yangon said. The region may face a second crisis unless people’s livelihoods improve, warned the Tripartite Core [...]

After the Storm: Voices from the Delta

After the Storm: Voices from the Delta is the first independent report assessing the response of the Burmese regime to Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma in May 2008. It exposes how the Burmese regime committed human rights abuses in its response to the cyclone by obstructing relief to victims of the cyclone.

Post-Nargis Analysis: The other side of the story

A report that explores the obstructions to aid and human rights abuses committed by Burma’s military regime and corruption that have occurred in the cyclone-hit region.