Latest news with #Thingyan
Hans India
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Hans India
Celebrate Thingyan Festival at Burma Burma till May 11
Burma Burma restaurants across India are celebrating Thingyan, the Burmese New Year and harvest festival, with a specially curated festive menu by Head Chef Ansab Khan. Inspired by the traditional home-style feasts enjoyed during Thingyan, the limited-time menu showcases the rich culinary diversity of Burma through a variety of authentic dishes. Thingyan, also known as the Water Festival, symbolizes purification and renewal, marked by water splashing and community feasting. Drawing from this cultural backdrop, the menu's centrepiece is the Thingyan Tiffin Meal for Two, served in an enamel tiffin, featuring a multi-course spread of festive favorites. It includes: Delete Edit Hand-tossed Broad Beans with a Fried Tofu Sandwich Mock Meatball Curry with flaky Palata Tofu and Bottle Gourd Curry Jasmine Rice with White Peas topped with stir-fried spicy soybean Pumpkin and Bok Choy Stir Fry Traditional Cashew and Tomato & Preserved Bean Dips Inspired by Burmese street food, a live Hawker's Noodle Salad is also offered, tossed table-side from a selection of fresh ingredients and dressings, replicating the vibrant food stalls of Yangon. Desserts rooted in Thingyan traditions include the Banana Sanwin Makin (semolina banana pudding), Black Rice Custard, Sago Delight, and Tropical Jelly, reflecting the celebratory sweets shared during the New Year. The beverage menu complements the meal with festive drinks such as the Plum Sour, Basil & Ginger, and Musk Lemon, each blending native ingredients and refreshing flavours inspired by Burmese drinks. Burma Burma's Thingyan menu will be available from April 14 to May 11, 2025, across its locations in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.
Japan Times
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Myanmar junta to free nearly 5,000 prisoners in amnesty
Myanmar's military government said Thursday it will release nearly 5,000 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the country's new year festivities. Civil rights groups say the junta has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since its 2021 coup cut short Myanmar's experiment with democracy and plunged the nation into a multi-sided civil war. Amnesties are regularly announced to commemorate national holidays or Buddhist festivals, but most high-profile political prisoners — including deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi — remain detained. A junta statement said 4,893 prisoners will be pardoned "to participate in the state-building process, for peace of mind of people and on compassionate grounds." To convey the "loving kindness of the state," the junta also said other prisoners would have their sentences reduced by one-sixth, except for those who had committed serious offenses. Those offenses include unlawful association and terrorism, as well as murder and rape. The junta said 13 foreign nationals would also be pardoned and deported, without giving details of their identities or crimes. Early on Thursday morning crowds of families gathered outside Yangon's Insein prison, prepared to meet those freed. The amnesty announcement was made as junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was reportedly due to make a rare foreign trip to Bangkok to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is chairing the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc this year. ASEAN has in the past barred junta officials from its summits over lack of progress on a peace plan. But Anwar said he would meet Min Aung Hlaing Thursday to discuss the safety of Malaysian humanitarian teams dispatched to Myanmar following last month's magnitude-7.7 earthquake. The junta has not confirmed the meeting. Myanmar's ongoing "Thingyan" water festival typically marks the country's new year with water-splashing rituals representing cleansing and renewal. But celebrations have been muted following the March 28 tremor in the country's central belt, which has killed 3,725 according to the latest official toll.
The Independent
17-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Myanmar frees almost 5,000 prisoners in new year's amnesty but no sign of Aung San Suu Kyi
Myanmar's military junta has pardoned nearly 5,000 prisoners as part of an annual new year's amnesty, but there are no indications that prominent political prisoners like ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi were among those released. According to state broadcaster MRTV, 4,893 prisoners were freed by order of General Min Aung Hlaing, who leads the country's ruling military council. An additional 13 foreign nationals are to be released and deported, while others will receive reduced sentences. Those convicted of serious crimes such as murder, rape or violations under security-related laws were excluded from the pardons. The amnesty coincides with Thingyan, Myanmar 's traditional new year festival, and follows a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck the country's central region on 28 March, killing more than 3,600 people and levelling ancient pagodas and modern buildings alike. This year's celebrations were subdued due to a national mourning period for earthquake victims. The United Nations and international rights groups had earlier urged the junta to extend the amnesty to political detainees held since a 2021 coup, including Ms Suu Kyi and former president U Win Myint. 'As the traditionally festive season of Thingyan and the start of a new year begins on Sunday in Myanmar, we call for common efforts to assist those in greatest need,' said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN human rights office. 'In this spirit we call on the military to announce a full amnesty for detainees it has incarcerated since February 2021, including state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint.' As of Thursday evening there was no confirmation that any of the estimated 22,000 political prisoners held in Myanmar were among those released. Many of them were jailed for peaceful protests in the months following the coup under sweeping incitement laws commonly used to suppress dissent. Relatives of prisoners gathered outside Yangon 's Insein Prison early on Thursday morning in hopes of seeing their loved ones freed. The authorities have not disclosed how many inmates were released from the facility. Myanmar has remained in turmoil since the military overthrew Ms Suu Kyi's elected government on 1 February 2021, sparking mass protests that evolved into an armed resistance. The country is now gripped by a civil war, with swathes of territory controlled by ethnic rebel groups and pro-democracy forces. In a televised new year's address, General Min Aung Hlaing said the military would accelerate relief and rebuilding in areas affected by the earthquake. The junta has been criticised for shelling areas worst-hit by the disaster, despite rebel groups calling a ceasefire. The junta leader reiterated his promise to hold general elections by the end of the year and called on opposition groups to pursue political rather than armed solutions. Meanwhile, Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, in his capacity as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), is expected to meet the Myanmar junta chief in Bangkok to discuss a potential extension of the temporary earthquake ceasefire. His planned meeting has sparked criticism from Myanmar's shadow National Unity Government and ethnic armed groups, who warned it could legitimise the junta's rule. "Any unilateral engagement with the military leader – widely regarded as a terrorist – must be approached with the utmost caution," the opposition coalition said in a joint statement. The ceasefire, which was agreed to by the military on 2 April, has been undermined by continued airstrikes, according to the United Nations and independent monitors. The junta has been accused of carrying out more than 120 attacks since the devastating quake, over half of which occurred after the truce was meant to take effect.
Arab Times
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
Myanmar frees around 4,900 prisoners to mark traditional new year
BANGKOK, April 17, (AP): The head of Myanmar's military government granted amnesty to around 4,900 prisoners to mark the country's traditional new year, state-run media reported Thursday, but it wasn't immediately clear how many were political detainees locked up for opposing army rule. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the ruling military council, pardoned 4,893 prisoners, MRTV reported. Thirteen foreigners will also be released and deported from Myanmar, it said in a separate statement. Other prisoners received reduced sentences, except for those convicted of serious charges such as murder and rape, or those jailed on charges under various other security acts. If the freed detainees violate the law again they will have to serve the remainder of their original sentences in addition to any new sentence, according to the terms of their release. Mass amnesties on the holiday are not unusual in Myanmar. The releases will occur at prisons nationwide. Dozens of relatives and friends of prisoners waited early Thursday outside the main gate of Insein Prison, on the northern outskirts of Yangon, the country's largest city. No details were available about the number of prisoners released from Insein as part of the amnesty. Myanmar has been under military rule since Feb 1, 2021, when its army ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government. The takeover was met with massive nonviolent resistance, which has since become a widespread armed struggle. The country is now in civil war. Some 22,197 political detainees, including Suu Kyi, were in detention as of last Friday, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the nation's political conflicts. Many political detainees had been held on a charge of incitement, a catch-all offense widely used to arrest critics of the government or military, and punishable by up to three years in prison. This year's celebrations of Thingyan, the New Year's holiday, were more reserved than usual due to a nationwide grieving period following a devastating earthquake last month. The country is struggling to recover from the 7.7 magnitude quake on March 28 that hit its central heartland, killing about 3,725 people and leveling structures from new condos to ancient pagodas.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Myanmar junta says to free nearly 5,000 prisoners in amnesty
Myanmar's military government said Thursday it will release nearly 5,000 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the country's new year festivities. Civil rights groups say the junta has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since its 2021 coup cut short Myanmar's experiment with democracy and plunged the nation into a multi-sided civil war. Amnesties are regularly announced to commemorate national holidays or Buddhist festivals, but most high-profile political prisoners including deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remain detained. A junta statement said 4,893 prisoners will be pardoned "to participate in the state-building process, for peace of mind of people and on compassionate grounds". To convey the "loving kindness of the state", the junta also said other prisoners would have their sentences reduced by one-sixth, except for those who had committed serious offences. The offences include unlawful association and terrorism, as well as murder and rape. Around 30 buses exited the gates of Yangon's Insein Prison around 11:30 am (0500 GMT), an AFP journalist saw. Some of the hundreds on board disembarked outside the gates, reuniting with tearful families holding placards marked with their loved ones' names. The junta said 13 foreign nationals would also be pardoned and deported, without giving details of their identities or crimes. The amnesty announcement was made as junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was reportedly due to make a rare foreign trip to Bangkok to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is chairing the 10-country ASEAN bloc this year. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has in the past barred junta officials from its summits over lack of progress on a peace plan. But Anwar said he would meet Min Aung Hlaing Thursday to discuss the safety of Malaysian humanitarian teams dispatched to Myanmar following last month's magnitude-7.7 earthquake. The junta has not confirmed the meeting. Myanmar's ongoing "Thingyan" water festival typically marks the country's new year with water-splashing rituals representing cleansing and renewal. But celebrations have been muted following the March 28 tremor in the country's central belt, which has killed 3,725 according to the latest official toll. bur-jts/sjc/dhc
