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Draft Law: Groups and Work

draft law: This has led some groups to fear it could be used to restrict their work in Burma, according to Toronto Star. The proposed law comes at a time of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms under Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her government, as they struggle to deal with the fallout of military operations that have sent nearly 700,000 Rohingya fleeing over the border to Bangladesh since August. The Draft Law on International Non-Governmental Organizations contains a vague definition of the groups it would regulate, proposes monitoring of aid groups' work by Myanmar staff and provides the affected organizations with few safeguards against the government suspending their work. The stated purpose of the law allows government to suppress activities they do not favour and undermines the efforts in advancing democracy and human rights, according to a February presentation reviewed by The Post from the INGO Forum, a coalition of dozens of aid groups operating in Burma, which is also known as Myanmar. It was unclear whether the law would move past the commission or what provisions the final version would include. Representatives from international aid groups and diplomats are lobbying members of the parliamentary committee reviewing the draft to change the wording or to have it withdrawn. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.