Democratic and political reforms in Burma have been uneven and halting.
Burma’s Promise: President Thein Sein’s 11 Commitments to Obama
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Myanmar
Making Myanmar Work
On May 20, 2013, former general Thein Sein became the first Burmese president to visit the White House in almost 50 years. From a pariah state noted for human rights violations under its brutal military regime, Myanmar turned a corner in 2010-2011 with the release of...
Vultures Over Burma
A poem: To all the men and women who sing change change change Mee-ahn mar–we never heard of you before.
President Suu Kyi?
Aung San Suu Kyi has shown great strength as Burma’s opposition leader. During her years of house arrest, she became a symbol of freedom and democracy. Yet these qualities will not necessarily bode well for a potential presidency, given the demands of governing a divided country.
Will the Burma Road End in Democracy?
Most visitors to Myanmar these days, when the country is opening up, limit their trips to Yangon, better known in better times as Rangoon. They rarely make the five-hour trip to Naypyitaw, the site upcountry to which the ruling military regime has transferred the capital.
Is Burma Really Changing?
The notoriously powerful military junta of Burma is loosening its grip. In an uncharacteristic move, former army general Thein Sein, who came to power in March, thwarted the Chinese-funded $3.6-billion Myitsone dam project in the state of Kachin, relenting to continuous pressure from the Burmese citizens in that region. The Burmese government has recently released more than 6,000 political prisoners. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is currently paying a historic visit to a country that has been closed to outside world for more than 50 years.
These events indicate that Burma may be inching toward democratic reform.
Burma’s Big Brother
Over 70 percent of Burma’s FDI has come from China, largely for development projects in ethnic-minority regions. These projects, along with smaller initiatives worth millions if not billions of dollars more in undocumented investment, have now brought tensions in ethnic regions to a boiling point. In turn, such tensions have led to the breakdown of a handful of ceasefire agreements between ethnic armed groups and the government army, which, incidentally, receives the majority of its weaponry from China.
Burma’s Junta: Can a Tiger Change Its Stripes?
Burma’s leadership announced it would free 6,359 prisoners, but only 207 political prisoners have been released thus far.
War on Roaches
Set up the four cuts
cut support cut food cut water cut communications
still see stray guerilla roaches, though all food including edible trash
carefully removed or wrapped
in plastic.
Myanmar May Be Closer to Becoming Burma Again Than You Think
Increased fighting by Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, along with low morale in the Myanmar army, suggest that the brutal government might not be as invulnerable to overthrow as previously thought.