President Thein Sein seems to be on the right track, when he ordered or instructed the military on December 10 to cease its offensive against the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/KIA). But reports coming in indicate that either the military is disobeying the presidential order or the instruction has not reached all the units, which according to Aung Thaung, Minister of Industry and head of the Union Level Peacemaking Group, sporadic skirmishes in remote areas occurred, due to the fact that troops there might not have received the instruction due to a lack of a proper telecommunication system.

Welcome soft breezes cool the night air as small waves lap the sands near Maung-Ma-Kan Beach, at Dawei, on the Adaman Sea, in the Taninthari region of southern Burma. The area, considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the region, is being enjoyed on this evening in February by many people. Some are sitting, some walking in the sand near the surf and some even painting the idyllic scene.

Thirty year-old Ahmed (not his real name), is a Rohingya refugee. He and other refugees fled to Malaysia by the dangerous sea route frequented by Rohingya boatpeople, leaving from Bangladesh. They sought a better life after more than 20 years living in squalid conditions  in small sheds in Bangladesh refugee camps, with no official status with the UNHCR and Bangladesh authorities,

Until today, political parties, which won in the 1990 general elections, and ethnic armed groups have criticized the 2008 constitution as hardly being suitable as a blueprint for Burma's future reform because it provides clear political advantage to the military, was drafted by the military regime, and it was approved in 2008 when many people struggled through the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. The constitution also doesn't have any guarantee for ethnic rights.