The chair of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party has said the party will renew efforts to unify Burma’s two most prominent ethnic Shan political parties, the other being the regionally dominant Shan Nationalities League for Democracy.

Critics have accused the NLD-led government of over-promising and under-delivering on legislative reform.

Locals and civil society organisations in Karen State are pushing back against plans for a coal-fired power plant in Hpa-an Township, where the project still has the blessing of the state’s leading official.

Hundreds of party faithful rallied at a staging grounds in Taungoo on Saturday morning in a show of support for beleaguered State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy’s longtime figurehead.

Speaking at an interfaith gathering, the head of the Rangoon archdiocese denounced the international community’s criticism of Burma over the ongoing Arakan crisis and asked for international support as the country works to resolve the issues blighting its westernmost state.

The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) must one day unite under the same banner, according to the leader of the former, who said that such a merger was ultimately necessary given Burma’s current political situation.