It’s difficult to understand why Aung San Suu Kyi dodges ethnic issues.
What Explains Aung San Suu Kyi’s Silence About the Persecution of Burma’s Minorities?
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Burma
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.
Will Suu Kyi’s Assimilation Into Burma’s Electoral Process Leave Its Ethnic Minorities Behind?
The rights of Burma’s ethnic nationalities continue to be ignored.
Dam and Ethnic Disputes Threaten to Undermine Credibility of Burma’s President
Between a controversial dam benefiting China and dealing with Burma’s ethnic minorities in good faith, Burma’s President Thein Sein has his work cut out for him.
The Foreign Policy President?
Elections are decided by economics. Voters respond to pocketbook issues and are swayed by the huge sums that candidates lavish on advertising. Foreign policy issues, by contrast, are what the British call “noises off,” those sounds from off-stage that you hear occasionally to punctuate the main actions, sounds like exploding bombs and the distant cries of suffering people. According to recent polling, global issues barely register at all with Americans right now. Far below the economy, jobs, health care, the budget deficit, and gas prices, you’ll find Afghanistan at 6 percent (CNN), terrorism at 1 percent (Bloomberg), and, most distressingly, no global issue at all (CBS/New York Times).
Moe Ma Kha Plant
That time when they
submerged my head
in water
they did not
not even
one moment
let me
raise it up
to breathe.
Burma: Don’t Believe the Hype
Burma’s President Thein Sein’s token democratic measures show he may still be but a front for the previous ruling junta.
In the Garden by the Lake
One anonymous commentator says
do Suu Kyi and Hilary have
the same hair stylist what
they don’t realize is Burma is
very hot both climatically and
politically pulled back hair
off the face is best.
In the garden they hold hands like
long lost sisters.
Appeasement Complex
Back in 2008 when the Burmese military junta announced a new constitution as a step toward civilian rule, the international community responded with considerable skepticism. The military didn’t look as though it intended to give up any real power. When Thein Sein won election as president earlier this year, The New York Times described it as “a move that cements the military’s control of a new political system.” The new president was widely considered a puppet of the top military general Than Shwe.
Sometimes, though, puppets manage to take on a life of their own.
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.