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Win Naing were granted refugee status in 1992 — two of the first Burmese nationals in Japan to be granted asylum by the Justice Ministry — and have since then led the efforts in Japan to promote development and progress in their homeland, often in confrontation with the current government.

Sukhumbhand visits Burma

Thailand’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra arrived in Burma for a three day official visit to celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations.

Rebel groups forge alliance

The Karen National Union (KNU) has made a loose alliance with another rebel group, the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), whose peace talks with the SPDC have collapsed. The Chairman of the KNU, General Bo Mya, said the alliance with the KNPP would promote military cooperation in the struggle to protect the rights of Burma’s minority peoples.

Join us, Suu Kyi implores soldiers

Aung San Suu Kyi urged soldiers to break ranks with their leaders and support the convening of parliament.

Using foreign radio broadcasts, she asked "ordinary soldiers" to remember that they had a higher duty than merely to serve their superiors.

Suu Kyi reminded the military members of her audience that the army was founded by her father, independence hero Aung San, "to protect the country, rather than to dominate politics."

Aquino dedicates award to Burmese

Former Philippine president Corazon Aquino dedicated a prestigious Asian award she won to the Burmese people, citing their long and bloody fight for freedom. Mrs Aquino has been named winner of this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding for helping topple strongman Ferdinand Marcos in a nearly bloodless uprising in the Philippines in 1986.

Accepting the award, Mrs Aquino said that, compared to the Filipinos’ 1986 triumph against Marcos’ dictatorship, the Burmese people were encountering more difficulties but were continuing the fight for democracy.