Background. Aung San Sun Kyi, the NLD, and the SPDC'S failed national dialogue -- Fifty years of ethnic conflict -- The Karen -- Ceasefires -- The monk's story. -- Human rights abuses of the Karen. Human rights and humanitarian law violations in Karen State -- Forced labor. -- Internal displacement. Why they are displaced -- How displacement happens -- Patterns of forced relocation -- Consequences of displacement. Lessons from ceasefires in Kachin and Mon states Kachin state -- Mon state -- Lessons learned. -- Humanitarian responses. Humanitarian agencies in Burma -- Policy options. -- Recommendations. To the Burmese government, the "State Development and Peace Council"--To the KNU and KNLA -- To the SPDC AND KNU -- To the United Nations, international aid agencies, and other donors -- To the government of the Royal Kingdom of Thailand. -- Acknowledgements.

Human Rights Watch is increasingly recognized as the world’s leader in building a stronger awareness for human rights. Their annual World Report is the most probing review of human rights developments available anywhere. Written in straightforward, non-technical language, Human Rights Watch World Report prioritizes events in the most affected countries during the previous year. The backbone of the report consists of a series of concise overviews of the most pressing human rights issues in countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, with particular focus on the role—positive or negative—played in each country by key domestic and international figures. Highly anticipated and widely publicized by the U.S. and international press every year, the World Report is an invaluable resource for journalists, diplomats, and all citizens of the world.

This book examines the ideas which have structured half a century of civil war in Burma, and the roles which political elites and foreign networks - from colonial missionaries to aid worker activists - have played in mediating understandings of ethnic conflict in the country. The book includes a brief overview of precolonial and colonial Burma, and the emergence ethnic identity as a politically salient characteristic. It describes the struggle for independence and the parliamentary era (1948-62), and the quarter century of military-socialist rule that followed (1962-88). The book analyses the causes, dynamics and impacts of on-going armed conflict in Burma, since the 1988 'democracy uprising' through to the 2007 'saffron revolution' (when monks and ordinary people took to the streets in protest against the military regime). There is a special focus on the plight of displaced people, and the ways in which local and international agencies have responded. The book also examines one of the most significant, but least well-understood, political developments in Burma over the last twenty years: the series of ceasefires agreed since 1989 between the military government and most armed ethnic groups. The positive and negative impacts of the ceasefires are analysed, including a study of civil society among ethnic nationality communities. This analysis leads to a discussion of the nature of social and political change in Burma, and a re-examination of some commonly held assumptions regarding the country, including issues of ethnicity and federalism. The book concludes with a brief Epilogue, taking account of Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma on 2 and 3 May 2008, resulting in a massive humanitarian crisis.

In the fifth instalment of this enchanting series, Billy embarks on a quest to uncover his ancestors’ mysterious connection to the fairy village. Guided by the wizard’s advice, Billy sets out on a journey to the neighbouring town, where a whimsical adventure awaits. From navigating the tranquil waters of the canal on a boat to encountering a mischievous possum and delving into the archives at the records office, Billy’s determination to unravel the secrets of his family’s past leads him through a series of captivating twists and turns.

The fourth edition of Centuries of Genocide: Essays and Eyewitness Accounts addresses examples of genocides perpetrated in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. Each chapter of the book is written by a recognized expert in the field, collectively demonstrating a wide range of disciplinary perspectives. The book is framed by an introductory essay that spells out definitional issues, as well as the promises, complexities, and barriers to the prevention and intervention of genocide. To help the reader learn about the similarities and differences among the various cases, each case is structured around specific leading questions. In every chapter authors address: Who committed the genocide? How was the genocide committed? Why was the genocide committed? Who were the victims? What were the outstanding historical forces? What was the long-range impact? What were the responses? How do scholars interpret this genocide? How does learning about this genocide contribute to the field of study? While the material in each chapter is based on sterling scholarship and wide-ranging expertise of the authors, eyewitness accounts give voice to the victims. This book is an attempt to provoke the reader into understanding that learning about genocide is important and that we all have a responsibility not to become immune to acts of genocide, especially in the interdependent world in which we live today. Revision highlights include: New chapters on genocide of Native Americans in the nineteenth century, genocide in Australia, and genocide in the Nuba Mountains New chapter authors on Herero genocide and Rwanda genocide Consolidation of the 3 chapters on the Holocaust into one focused case Several chapters from past editions that were omitted are now available on a companion website (Indonesia, Burundi, indigenous peoples)

Than Shwe was part of a military coup that took over Burma in the 1960s. The British had granted Burma independence in 1948, but the country, with its many ethnic groups, had trouble building a democratic government. Than Shwe rose through the military ranks, and after the army stepped in to quell demonstrations and riots that began on August 8, 1988, he emerged as head of the military council. He became one of the most secretive and repressive leaders in the world. Than Shwe uses Burma’s resources to finance a strong military. To suppress dissent, his soldiers destroy the countryside, sending people into hiding, refugee camps, or slavery. His control has isolated the country from international observers. In 2007, Internet images of monks being beaten during a protest rally reached the rest of the world. This was followed by reports in 2008 of a devastating cyclone, when Than Shwe banned outside aid for weeks. Both events helped to raise global awareness about the human rights abuses suffered by the Burmese people. In Than Shwe’s Burma, learn more about this dictatorship and about Burma’s long struggle to become a free nation.

The book analyses inter-group relations in a war-torn region of postsocialist Croatia which previously had a large Serbian population. The focus is on the legitimising discourses, structures and agencies which regulate access to houses and land. It explores the role of ethnicity and locality in everyday life and in politics and shows that the views of Knin Croats often diverge from those of recent Croatian immigrants. The study contributes to theories of conflict and reconciliation as well as to the anthropology of postsocialism and legal anthropology.

Situated in the triangle between South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China, Burma is a country of 50 million people struggling under the oppression of one of the world's most brutal military regimes. Yet, the voices of its people remain largely unheard in the international arena. Most of the limited media coverage deals with the non-violent struggle for democracy led by Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi or the Army's repression of university students and urban dissidents, but these only form a small part of the story. This book presents the voices of ethnic Karen villagers to give an idea of what it is like to be a rural villager in Burma: the brutal and constant shifts of forced labor for the Army, the intimidation tactics, the systematic extortion and looting by Army and State authorities, the constant fear of arbitrary arrest, rape, torture, and summary execution, the forced relocation and burning of hundreds of civilian villages and the systematic uprooting of their crops. Three detailed reports produced by the Karen Human Rights Group in 1999 are used to give the reader a sampling of the life of Karen villagers, both in areas where there is armed resistance to the rule of the SPDC junta and in areas where the junta is fully in control. The Karen Human Rights Group is a small and independent local organization which has been using the firsthand testimony of villagers to document the human rights situation in rural Burma since 1992. Much of the group's work can be seen online at www.khrg.org. Kevin Heppner, who contributed the introductory sections of the book, is a Canadian volunteer who founded KHRG in 1992 and still serves as its coordinator. Claudio Delang, who edited this book, has a keen interest in Karen life and customs. He is currently completing a PhD dissertation on the Karen and Hmong in northern Thailand.

For nearly five decades, Colombia has been embroiled in internal armed conflict among guerrilla groups, paramilitary militias, and the country’s own military. Civilians in Colombia have to make their lives despite the threat of torture, kidnapping, and large-scale massacres—and more than four million have had to flee their homes. The oral histories in Throwing Stones at the Moon describe the most widespread of Colombia’s human rights crises: forced displacement. Speakers recount life before displacement, the reasons for their flight, and their struggle to rebuild their lives. Among the narrators: JULIA, a hospital union leader whose fight against corruption led to a brutal attempt on her life. In 2009, assassins tracked her to her home and stabbed her seven times in the face and chest. Since the attack, Julia has undergone eight facial reconstructive surgeries, and continues to live in hiding. DANNY, who at eighteen joined a right-wing paramilitary’s enormous training camp in the Eastern Plains of Colombia. Initially lured by the promise of quick money, Danny soon realized his mistake and escaped to Ecuador. He describes his harrowing escape and his struggle to survive as a refugee with two young children to support.