Tens of thousands have been killed and displaced in a decades-long fight between fighters from the Shan ethnic minority and the ruling SPDC. 'We will never give up" says Colonel Yawd Serk, the head of Burma's largest rebel army, the Shan State Army (SSA), from his base atop a cold, windy mountain in southern Burma. Although only a few hundred yards from the Thai border, the rebel camp of Loi Taleng might as well be a thousand miles from its peaceful neighbour. Uniformed troops armed with AK-47s and M-16s march through the muddy streets, preparing to meet their larger and better-equipped enemy on Burma's killing fields.

Unless the international community pushes for modification of the junta's political roadmap, a continuation of the conflict in Burma is a certainty. Recent weeks have been frustrating for Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's democracy icon. Hope of starting political dialogue with the regime's supremo, Senior General Than Shwe, is now dim. Although there was an agreement to hold weekly meetings every Monday between Suu Kyi and government liaison minister Aung Kyi, the regime has gone back on its word. No meeting has taken place between Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi since November 19. Moreover, the military's promise of allowing two liaison officials from her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), to see her regularly has yet to be realised.

Altsean-Burma is releasing a briefer ahead of Burma’s 60th anniversary of independence on January 4, 2008. Tragically, the consequences of Burmese military regime’s gross mismanagement and violations do not offer any cause for celebration. The brief socio-economic overview of Burma’s past 60 years presents the grim realization that the past 2 years have witnessed a sharp decline in Burma on all fronts. Despite public relations efforts aimed at staving off both external and internal pressure, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has perpetrated such serious mismanagement, repression and corruption that the consequences are not only threatening Burma’s stability but that of its immediate region as well.

Merry Christmas from the jungles and villages of Burma. We are all on relief missions now and want to take time to thank you all and to wish you a Merry Christmas. Today we entered the remains of a burned village and our guide was a man who asked if I wanted to see where the Burma Army had killed two children by burning them alive during an attack 10 years ago. I said yes and another villager who was walking with us came along to show us the exact spot. "That is where I buried my son", he said as he pointed to a rock under a tree next to the charred remains of his house. As he pointed he began to cry and sank to the ground with his head in his hands calling for his son.

In the film Rambo (2008), Sylvester Stallone pretends to go into the war in Burma with one of the tribal armies. Antonio Graceffo did it for real. The new episode of Martial Arts Odyssey is filmed inside of Burma, in a war zone, and features the first glimpse most westerners will have of the Shan art of Lai Tai Kung Fu.

Watch it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCjNaHnk7Jw

The brutal and ongoing suppression of the "saffron revolution" has refocused international attention on the appalling human rights and political situation in Burma. Civilised people have been shocked by the images of Buddhist monks and other civilians being arrested and killed in Rangoon and other cities. The challenge facing the international community is how to persuade the junta to better respect the human, civil and political rights of citizens. Whether this requires reform of the military government - and some kind of gradual transition to democracy - or a more abrupt form of regime change is debatable. What is clear, however, is that Burma needs change - and soon.

"Burma is a multi racial country. Several ethnic indigenous groups have lived throughout history in Burma and the Burmans call us ethnic minority groups. We are not minorities, we are the indigenous”, said Dr. Sui Khar, one of leaders of ENC ( Ethnic Nationalities Council) and also a leading member of Chin National Front, while lecturing to the ethnic youth in the workshop organized on the Thai-Burma border on 17 December.

The Burmese government does not issue visas to journalists. In order to interview the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of Shan State , I had to enter the country under the protection of the Shan State Army, an armed ethnic group, rebelling against the Burmese Junta, the SPDC. Three hundred and fifty IDP families are living on the Shan State Army (SSA) headquarters at Loi Tailang.

FBR just completed the training of 18 new relief teams and are now undertaking their first mission. The new teams are very enthusiastic and the training included men and women from the Karen, Kachin, Karenni, Shan and Chin ethnic groups. With the addition of these 18 new teams, there are now 43 FBR humanitarian relief teams in the field providing assistance to the displaced in Burma. The training was completed in three phases. The first starting in April for the new FBR medics, the second starting in September for all members of the new teams and the third starting in October for the new teams as well as 14 advanced medics.

The Burmese Women’s Union (BWU) has released the publicationCaught Between Two Hells –an in-depth report documenting female migrant workers’ experiences in which BWU researchers conducted 149 interviews with women and girl migrants working in Thailand and China between November 2006 and March 2007. International Migrant Worker’s Day is celebrated to commemorate the day, 18th December 1990, on which the UN adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. Unfortunately, 17 years on, migrant workers from Burma still face discrimination and abuse, and lack protection both in their home country and in their host countries.