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Other Political Parties & Opposition GroupsThe NDF ended up with 16 elected members taking seats in the nationaland state legislatures, compared to 883 seats for the military-backedUSDP. Among the 16 ethnic parties who also won seats were the ShanNationalities Democratic Party (SNDP; 57 seats), Rakhaing NationalitiesDevelopment Party (RNDP; 35 seats), All Mon Region DemocracyParty (AMRDP; 16 seats), Chin Progress Party (CPP; 12 seats) and the PaoNational Party (CPP; 10 seats). There are also parties representing theKayan, Kayin, Taaung (Palaung) and Wa.In addition to the parties listed above, there are a further 18 ethnicparties who either didn’t win seats or chose not to contest the election,plus about 20 other unregistered opposition groups, some of whom –such as the Kachin Independence Army – are fighting the government.All of this shows how complicated the ethnic political struggle in Myanmarhas become. Tackling this situation to achieve national reconciliation(see p 309 ) is considered by many, including Aung San Suu Kyi, oneof the most pressing political problems that Myanmar faces, since it’s apre-requisite for improving the everyday lives of the country’s citizens.A ray of hope is that representatives of many of the ethnic partieshave welcomed the chance – the first they’ve had in over 20 years – toparticipate in national and local government. In the ethnic states someof the ethnic parties captured significant percentages of the vote (p 291 ).Political Prisoners & Human RightsAung San Suu Kyi may have been released in November 2010, but as sheand many others keep pointing out, over 2000 other political prisonersremain under detention in Myanmar. According to the AssistanceAssociation for Political Prisoners (www.aappb.org), which keeps a runningtally of the detainees, the ‘arbitrary arrest and detention of politicalactivists and ordinary people for their perceived opposition to theregime continues unabated’. Human Rights Watch (www.hrw.org) hasdocumented how these prisoners are routinely mistreated, tortured and‘deprived of health resources, food and contact [with family and friends]’.Bad as this is, it pales in comparison with the litany of human-rightsabuses that are taking place in the government’s war with various armedethnic groups in the border regions. In the Shan State, according to theUK Burma Campaign and others, there is ‘widespread use of rape as aweapon of war against ethnic minorities, the forced displacement of overNowhere to BeHome, edited byMaggie Lemereand Zoë West,presents 22oral histories ofMyanmar citizensgathered fromthose living inthe country andthose in exile. Thestories are oftenheartbreaking,and the bookincludes veryuseful appendiceson current affairs,history andpolitics.317POLITICS, ECONOMICS & SANCTIONS POLITICSACTIVIST WEBSITESMany groups have websites that outline Myanmar’s prodemocracy movement and providedetails about ongoing human-rights abuses.Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org) Provides regular updates on the status of1994 political prisoners being held behind bars.Burma Campaign UK (www.burmacampaign.org.uk) One of the more outspoken campaigngroups, which is in favour of targeted sanctions.Burma Global Action Network (BGAN; www.burma-network.com) In the wake of the2007 monk-led anti-government protests, BGAN was founded through the creation ofthe Facebook group ‘Support the Monks’ Protest in Burma’.Burma Voices (www.burmavoices.com) A database of stories and photos of people whohave first-hand knowledge of the situation in Myanmar.Free Burma Coalition (www.freeburmacoalition.org) Run by Myanmar-exile figure Zarni.Includes links to Myanmar-related news.Network Myanmar (www.networkmyanmar.org) Committed to people-to-people contactand dialogue on issues surrounding Myanmar.