Myanmar student leaders detained

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NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar, July 9 (UPI) -- Student leaders in Myanmar said the government isn't living up to the benchmarks expected from democratic reforms.

Student leaders from the All Burma Federation of Student Union were held briefly last week ahead of the anniversary of the military crackdown on demonstrators in 1962. Party General-Secretary Phyo Phyo Aung said she, along with three of her colleagues, were held overnight July 6.

Party leader D Nyein Linn said pressure on opposition groups isn't conducive to political reform.

"The constitution allows freedom for formation of associations, but we feel like this law is unreachable to us," he was quoted by the Democratic Voice of Burma news agency as saying. "We don't feel the law can provide us safety."

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has earned praise from members of the international community for a series of political reforms enacted since 2010 general elections.

Former prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, freed in 2010, took her seat Monday in her inaugural session of Parliament.

Despite political progress, human rights groups have expressed concern about the situation in Myanmar. Human Rights Watch, in a 68-page report published last month, said as many as 10,000 Kachin refugees have fled conflict and abuses in Myanmar since June 2011.