Myanmar approves law guaranteeing right to protest

The new parliament of Myanmar has just passed a law that would guarantee the rights of the people to protest but with certain terms and conditions.

Under the new law, protesters must seek permission from government authorities before they can stage a rally or demonstration, they must also provide details of the event, including the participating groups and their speakers or leaders. The law says protesters are prohibited from staging rallies or protests in hospitals, government offices and factories. Protesters risk a prison term of one year if they do so without seeking permission from concerned government offices. Myanmar President Thein Sein has put in effect a series of directives aimed at relaxing the rules that governed Myanmar for decades under the military regime. He also ordered the release of hundreds of political prisoners who were languishing in jails for many years without trial. Sein has also been meeting with Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to discuss her participation in forthcoming by-elections. The new law that guarantees the rights of citizens to peaceful assembly has been greeted by the international community with praise and hope for a new democratic beginning for Myanmar. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to visit Myanmar on the first week of December to further bolster the growing cordial relationship with the western world and to encourage more reforms in the country. Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) has been ruled by a military junta for decades until late last year when the the nation held general elections which paved the way for a parliamentary form of government. The country is now ruled by civilian leaders but most of them were former members of the defunct military junta.