CQ Burma

JULY 17, 2012
VOLUME 6, NUMBER 14
PAGES 329-352
WWW.GLOBALRESEARCHER.COM
Myanmars New Era

WILL THE MILITARY ALLOW REFORMS TO CONTINUE?
fter nearly half a century of isolation, stagnation and iron-fisted rule by one of the developing worlds
last remaining military dictatorships, Myanmar (formerly Burma) has instituted a dramatic series of political and economic reforms. These changes, instituted during the past year by a civilian government
run by a former general, indicate that the military may be willing to hand over power voluntarily
a scenario that few could have predicted as little as a year ago. Equally surprising, Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars
world-famous, pro-democracy dissident and
opposition leader, was recently elected to
Parliament and has greeted the reforms
with cautious optimism. Western powers
have responded to the nascent reforms by
suspending economic and political sanctions and are beginning to invest in the
desperately poor but resource-rich nation
of 55 million people. However, Myanmar
faces a challenging future especially in
its treatment of ethnic minorities.
In a sign that Myanmars militar y junta may be
transforming the countr y into a more democratic
society, Aung San Suu Kyi a Nobel Peace Prize
winner and one of the worlds most famous political
dissidents attends the second day of her
historic term in Parliament on July 10.
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MYANMARS NEW ERA

THE ISSUES
331
Should the West lift

sanctions on Myanmar?
Should the world community do more to protect
Myanmars ethnic minorities?
Will the military allow
democracy to emerge?
SIDEBARS AND GRAPHICS
332
Myanmar Separates India

from Southeast Asia
The desperately poor country
has 55 million people.
333
The Poorest Country in

Southeast Asia
Nearly a third of the people
lives below the poverty line.
BACKGROUND
338
Monarchy Rules
Myanmar was founded in
the 11th century.
334
The Private Anguish of

Aung San Suu Kyi
The haunting choice: Your
country or your family.
340
Road to Independence
Britain ruled Burma until
1948.
336
342
Isolationist Socialism
A 1962 coup led to 50
years of military dictatorship.
Living Standards Are

Regions Lowest
But per capita gross domestic
product has more than tripled.
337
Economy on Upswing
Inflation has plummeted;
foreign investment is up.
343
Winds of Change
President U Thein Sein
has adopted reforms.
CURRENT SITUATION
344
344
346
340
A Patchwork Quilt of
Ethnic Minorities
Can political reforms resolve
Myanmars ethnic conflicts?
345
Counterbalancing China
Some say Myanmar is befriending the West to balance Chinas influence.
At Issue
Are countries moving too
quickly to remove sanctions
on Myanmar?
352
Voices from Abroad

Headlines and editorials from
around the world.
Open for Business

Hopeful investors are
pouring into Myanmar.
Irreversible Reforms?
Many believe Myanmars
reforms are permanent.
Cover : AFP/Getty Images/Soe Than Win
330
Chronology
Key events since 1057.
Democracy at Risk
Recent ethnic violence
could threaten reforms.
OUTLOOK
346
339
CQ Global Researcher
FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
349
For More Information

Organizations to contact.
350
Bibliography
Selected sources used.
351
The Next Step

Additional articles.
351
Citing CQ Global Researcher

Sample bibliography formats.
July 17, 2012

Volume 6, Number 14
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Myanmars New Era

BY ROBERT KIENER
THE ISSUES
on March 30, 2011.

In 2011 the government
established a human-rights
t was a day few believed
commission, released more
they would ever see.
than 10,000 prisoners inWearing a flowing purple
cluding hundreds of political
silk dress with flowers tucked
detainees and invited poneatly in her hair, famed political exiles to return home.
litical dissident Aung San Suu
In January 2012 the govKyi was sworn in as a memernment signed a cease-fire
ber of Myanmars Parliament
agreement with the minority
on May 2.
rebel group, the Karen NaAs thousands of supporttional Union, bringing an end
ers and the worlds press gathto more than 60 years of
ered outside the Parliament
armed resistance. 4
building in Naypyidaw, the
The government has
capital, Suu Kyi and nearly
begun relaxing press and Inthree dozen members of her
ternet censorship laws and
opposition National League for
cracking down on corruption
Democracy (NLD), pledged, I
while liberalizing foreign inwill be loyal to the Republic
vestment laws.
of the Union of Myanmar and
The world has taken notice
citizenry and always hold in
of the momentous changes takesteem the non disintegration
ing place in Myanmar.
of the union. 1
Just a year ago, few would
The swearing in of Suu
have believed Myanmars genKyi a Nobel Peace Price
erals would ever voluntarily
winner who was held under
hand over power, says David
Burmese exiles in New Delhi protest Myanmars autocratic rule
house arrest for 15 years by
I. Steinberg, a distinguished
on Oct. 13, 2011, during a four-day visit to India by Myanmars
new president, U Thein Sein. Military leaders, who have ruled the
Myanmars military junta
professor of Asian Studies at
country for 50 years, voluntarily handed over power on
made headlines around the
Georgetown University and auMarch 30, 2011, to a civilian government led by Thein Sein,
globe and was celebrated
thor of several seminal books
who has released hundreds of political detainees
throughout the country,
on
Myanmar. The pace of
and begun relaxing censorship laws.
which was formerly called
change has been staggering.
Burma. The April 1 parliamentary by- cratic process. . . . We invite all parties
Longtime Myanmar-watcher Nicholas
election, in which the opposition party who wish to bring peace and prosper- Farrelly, a research fellow at the Auswon 43 out of 45 contested seats in ity to our country [to work together]. 2 tralian National Universitys College of
While the election of Myanmars Asia and the Pacific, recently noted,
the 664-member body, was one of the
most visible signs that Myanmars mil- most famous citizen to Parliament may As hard as it might be to believe, diitary dictatorship may be transforming have garnered the most headlines rect military rule in Burma is coming
into a more open and representation- around the world, other dramatic to an end. . . . Burma, an exemplar
changes indicate reform is under way of quirky authoritarian practices and
al form of government.
The drama was evident the day after in once-isolated Myanmar:
steel-willed despots, is becoming more
A new constitution, albeit one that familiar by the day. 5
the election, as an ebullient Suu Kyi
(pronounced Su Chee) spoke to teem- favors the military, was adopted in 2008
And although some Myanmar experts,
ing crowds in Yangon, formerly called and described by Myanmars junta as dissidents and diplomats may debate the
Rangoon. Declaring the election a tri- part of a roadmap to democracy. 3
sincerity of the generals reform efforts,
Military leaders, who have ruled the the changes have helped to quickly reumph of the people, she continued,
What is important is not how many country since the early 1960s, formally admit the long-shuttered nation into the
seats we have won but that . . . the handed over power to a civilian gov- international political and economic compeople have participated in the demo- ernment led by President U Thein Sein munities. Citing the success of political
AFP/Getty Images/Raveendran
www.globalresearcher.com
July 17, 2012
331
MYANMARS NEW ERA

Myanmar Separates India from Southeast Asia
Located south of China between the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia,
Myanmar formerly known as Burma is a desperately poor but
resource-rich nation of 55 million people. Its administrative capital is now in
Naypyidaw, but the countrys commercial center is in the former capital,
Rangoon, now called Yangon. Ruled by a military junta for 50 years, Myanmar
is now adopting political and economic reforms, some say in an effort to lure
Western investors and distance itself from the economic juggernaut on its
northern border China.
Myanmar Sits Between China and India
N E PA L
BHUTAN
CHINA
BANGLADESH
IN DI A
Irawadd
y R.
INDIA
VI E T N AM
M YA N M A R
LAO S
Naypyidaw
Bay of Bengal
Yangon
Gulf of
Irawaddy Martaban
Delta
Andaman Sea
C AM BO DI A
Andaman
Islands
150 mi
Map by Lewis Agrell
reforms in Myanmar, the United States,

the European Union (EU) and many
other countries have suspended (but
not eliminated) many long-held, often
crippling sanctions on Myanmar.
In April, the EU formally suspended most sanctions for a year, except
those blocking arms imports. The EU
said it wanted to support Myanmars
progress so it becomes irreversible. 6
332
T H AI LAN D
Gulf of
Thailand
Mekong
Delta
The United States followed suit, explaining the sanctions would remain on
the books as an insurance policy. 7
At about the same time, Japan forgave about $3.7 billion of Myanmars
debt and announced resumption of
development aid. 8 After lifting its sanctions, Australia pledged to double education aid to nearly $100 million annually by 2015. 9
Diplomatic doors are also swinging

open. Following U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clintons first-ever visit
to Myanmar in late 2011, the United
States restored full diplomatic relations
with the Southeast Asian nation in
early 2012 and appointed the first U.S.
ambassador to Myanmar since 1990.
Scores of diplomats have been visiting to explore expanding relations
with the country. As The New York
Times recently noted, Myanmar, isolated for so long, is suddenly a diplomatic destination of choice. 10
Investors, too, are jetting into Yangon
in record numbers, lured by Myanmars
enormous natural resources such as lumber, oil, natural gas and gem stones; a
young labor force (65 percent of the
population is under 35); its massive need
for infrastructure and its proximity to
booming China and India.
Myanmars economy is poised for
healthy growth 6 percent is predicted in 2012, up from 5.5 percent
last year, according to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF). Indeed, many have
begun dubbing the Texas-size country
the next Asian tiger. As the IMF noted,
Myanmar could become the next economic frontier in Asia if, with appropriate reforms, it can turn its rich natural resources, young labor force and
proximity to some of the most dynamic
economies to its advantage. 11
The widespread optimism about Myanmars future, however, is tempered with
some very big ifs, such as its undeveloped infrastructure. Myanmars infrastructure is a mess. There is no capacity for all this potential investment, says
Murray Hiebert, deputy director of the
Southeast Asia Program at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Roads, ports, the electrical grid: all are
terrible and need improvement. Ministries
are already way overstretched. If the
country wants to move forward, it needs
a massive overhaul.
Maung Zarni, a noted Burmese exile
and a visiting fellow at the London
School of Economics, believes much of
the world looks at Myanmar through

rose-colored glasses. After all, he explains, there are pockets of local communities whose socioeconomic and
humanitarian conditions are more like
those found in sub-Saharan Africa than
in a country some are calling Asias
next economic tiger.
Others cite Myanmars woefully inadequate educational system. According
to UNESCO, more than 25 percent of
the nations children drop out before
they reach fifth grade. And while the
official literacy rate has been estimated
at 83 percent, many believe that is too
optimistic. 12 The governments expenditures on education have been miniscule, says Georgetowns Steinberg. Education has to be a top priority.
Other enormous challenges include:
The nations health care system
is ranked by the World Health Organization as the worlds second worst,
after Sierra Leone. 13
In the most recent Corruption
Perceptions Index, published by the
watchdog group Transparency International, Burma ranked 180th, ahead
of only Somalia and North Korea. 14
Womens and minorities rights
are flagrantly abused.
Military rape is systematically used
in Burma as a weapon of the military regimes cleansing of ethnic areas,
according to a 2002 report, License
to Rape, by the Shan Human Rights
Foundation and the Shan Womens
Action Network. It details 173 incidents of rape and other forms of sexual violence involving 625 girls and
women, committed by Burmese Army
troops in Shan state. 15 The U.S. Campaign for Burma says, These rapes
are often gang rapes, and are accompanied by torture, murder, mutilation and display of bodies to target
communities.
Moreover, the group continued,
Women and girls have many fewer educational and job opportunities than
men in Burma: Less than one-third of
girls who enroll in primary school ac-
The Poorest Country in Southeast Asia

Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist, resource-rich country nearly the size
of Texas but with twice as many people. Southeast Asias poorest country,
Myanmar had a 2011 per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $1,300,
with nearly a third of the population living below the poverty line.
Myanmar by the Numbers

Area: 261,228 square miles, slightly smaller than Texas
Population: 54.6 million (July 2012 est.)
Labor force: 32.53 million (2011 est.)
Unemployment rate: 5.5% (2011 est.)
GDP: $82.72 billion (2011 est.)
GDP per capita: $1,300 (2011 est.)
GDP growth: 5.5% (2011 est.); 5.5% (2010 est.); 5.1% (2009 est.)
Population below poverty line: 32.7% (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 47.74 deaths/1,000 live births
Natural Resources: petroleum, timber, tin, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead,
coal, marble, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower
Ethnic Makeup: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%,
Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
Religions: Buddhist 89%, Christian 4%, Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
Languages: Burmese
Government: A nominally civilian parliamentary government took power
in March 2011.
Source: The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency
tually complete it, and many girls are

trafficked into exploitative sex work. 16
Minorities, who represent about
30 percent of Myanmars population,
also have suffered at the hands of
the military junta. Brutal civil wars
have raged since independence in
1948, and minority groups such as
the Kachin, the Karen and others
have been abused.
The rights of women and the rights
of minorities are regularly violated by
Myanmars leaders, yet many in the international community seem to ignore
these abuses, says London-based
Zoya Phan, an ethnic Karen whose
family escaped to Thailand after the
military junta threatened to kill them

(and whose politically active father
was assassinated upon his eventual return to Myanmar). Someone has to
answer for these crimes against humanity. (See At Issue, p. 345.)
Myanmars human-rights situation is
categorized as dire by Human Rights
Watch, which complained that foreign
governments have expressed their optimism about government reforms in
Myanmar despite abundant evidence
of continuing systematic repression. 17
According to the groups 2012 World
Report, freedoms of expression, association and assembly remain severely
curtailed in Myanmar. Ethnic conflict
July 17, 2012
333
MYANMARS NEW ERA
The Private Anguish of Aung San Suu Kyi

The choice that haunted her: Your country or your family.
n Myanmar, shes known to millions of her fellow citizens
as simply The Lady. The rest of the world knows Aung
San Suu Kyi, 67, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and icon of
peaceful political resistance in Myanmar, as what CNN called
one of the few genuine heroes of our time, someone in the
mold of Nelson Mandela and Mohandas Ghandhi. 1
After enduring years of house arrest under Myanmars military junta, she was released in 2010 and in April was elected
to Parliament as head of the National League for Democracy,
an opposition party.
While Suu Kyis elegant and restrained public persona is well
known, her personal background is not as familiar, yet it has
all the dramatic elements of a Hollywood movie. Indeed, a
movie of her life, The Lady, was recently released, starring
Michelle Yeoh.
She was born in 1945 to Gen. Aung San, Myanmars revered
independence fighter and founder of the modern Burmese army.
When she was 2 years old her father was assassinated by political rivals, just six months before Myanmar (then known as
Burma) gained independence from the United Kingdom.
In 1960 she left Myanmar for New Delhi, where her mother, Daw Khin Kyi, was Myanmars ambassador to India. Four
years later she went to Oxford University, where she studied
politics, philosophy and economics.
There she met and married an Oxford academic, Michael
Aris, and settled into a cozy domestic life as a young house-
escalated in 2011 as longstanding ceasefires with ethnic armed groups broke

down in northern Burma. The Burmese
military continues to be responsible
for abuses against civilians in conflict
areas, including forced labor, extra judicial killings, sexual violence, the use
of human shields, and indiscriminate
attacks on civilians.
As Myanmars leaders claim they are
reforming their ways, here are some
of the questions being asked by diplomats, foreign policy experts and democracy watchdog groups:
Should the West lift sanctions on
Myanmar?
In a letter on May 4, Sens. Jim Webb,
D-Va., and James Inhofe, R-Okla., urged
Secretary Clinton to act in a clear, proactive manner to facilitate reforms in
334
wife. They had two sons. She is remembered there as a dutiful

housewife who produced home-cooked meals every day, ironed
her husbands socks, and sewed her own curtains and clothes,
one writer noted about her time in Oxford. 2 Then, as in a movie,
a phone call suddenly and dramatically changed her life.
Her mother was seriously ill, and Suu Kyi flew back to care
for her in 1988. While in Myanmar, she was caught up in a
major political upheaval and, as Gen. Aung Sans daughter, was
enlisted to lead an opposition movement. In an instant, the
socks-ironing expatriate wife had become a political activist,
helping her fellow Burmese in their moment of need. As she
famously told a crowd at the time, I could not, as my fathers
daughter, remain indifferent to all that was going on.
Her husband joined her in Rangoon (now called Yangon)
and helped her as she traveled around the country promoting
peaceful political reform. However, her popularity angered
and threatened the military dictator, Ne Win, who placed
her under house arrest and had Michael deported.
Although she was free to travel to England to see her husband, she feared the government would forbid her from returning to Burma. Separated from her husband and sons, she remained a prisoner in her own home. The family was reunited
briefly in 1995 in Myanmar, when she was temporarily freed.
It was the last time husband and wife would ever see one
another. Three years later, Michael was diagnosed with terminal
cancer, but he was refused a visa to visit his wife.
Burma by lifting economic sanctions

against the country. 18
To protest Myanmars human-rights
abuses against minorities and dissidents,
the United States and many other Western nations in recent years had banned
travel and arms sales to Myanmar as
well as imports of Burmese products.
American investment and financial services companies also were prohibited
from doing business in Myanmar.
Others opposed to sanctions, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., agree
that removing sanctions (excluding the
arms embargo) would encourage Myanmars leaders to pursue even more reforms. Conversely, said Webb, who
chairs a Senate panel overseeing U.S.
policy on East Asia and the Pacific,
You could go too slow and also encourage negative reactions. 19
After visiting Myanmar, McCain said

that despite some ongoing problems
President Thein Sein and his allies are
sincere about reform and they are
making real progress. He favored maintaining a ban on doing business with
some military-dominated firms but
joined the call to ease sanctions. The
right investment would strengthen
Burmas private sector, McCain said,
benefit its citizens and ultimately loosen
the militarys control over the economy and the civilian government. 20
The European Union agreed and suspended sanctions in mid-April. Things
have been going in the right direction,
clearly, and faster than most of us had
thought, said Germanys Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Link. 21
But Suzanne DiMaggio, vice president of global policy programs at the
Robert Kiener
1 Frida Ghitis, At last, a hero for democracy, CNN, June 22, 2011, www.
cnn.com/2012/06/22/opinion/ghitis-aung-san-suu-kyi/index.html.
Asia Society in New York City, does

not think countries are moving too
quickly. The U.S. process has been
gradual, unfolding over months, and I
think it is calibrated to keep pace with
changes in Burma. Its important to remember that these are suspensions and
not permanent removals. If there was
a reversal in progress, they could be
reinstated.
Those opposed to lifting the sanctions,
however, say such action is premature.
For instance, a caucus of Southeast Asian
legislators said in a statement: A gold
rush in the Southeast Asian nation could
fuel further human-rights abuses, risk fragile ceasefires and arrest ongoing democratic reforms rather than bolster them.
The Western governments are in a
bit too much of a hurry, said Putri Adena
Astrid, a Jakarta-based spokeswoman for
Reuters/Scanpix
Thirty more visa applications were refused, despite letters

of appeal from President Bill Clinton, Pope John Paul II and
others. The military rulers made Suu Kyi an offer: She could
travel to England to see Michael and her sons, but she could
not return to Myanmar. As one writer explained, The implicit choice that had haunted her throughout 10 years of marital
separation had now become an explicit ultimatum: Your country or your family. 3
Michael backed her decision to stay in Myanmar. They
spoke only a few times. Finally, knowing the end was near,
she put on a dress she knew he loved and made an emotional, private farewell film for him in 1999. It had to be
smuggled out of the country. Michael died two days before
it arrived.
Suu Kyi rarely speaks of personal matters and is quick to
brush aside questions she considers too private. But her biographer has shed some light on the dilemma she faced in 1999.
She has been attacked for being cold or unfeeling, but she
couldnt show the regime she was suffering, said Peter Popham.
Her anguish was genuine and profound. 4
In public, at least, the Lady never shed a tear.
Michael Aris, an Oxford academic and the husband of 1991 Nobel

Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, stands with their two sons
next to a photo of his wife while attending the award ceremony in
Oslo in December 1991. Suu Kyi, under house arrest in Myanmar
at the time, was not allowed to attend. Aris, who was repeatedly
denied a visa to Myanmar to visit his wife, died of cancer in 1999.
2 Emma Larkin, The force of a woman, The New Republic, May 4, 2012,
www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/magazine/103083/lady-peacock-aung-sansuu-kyi%20?page=0,1.
3 Rebecca Frayn, Can Aung San Suu Kyi, now free, lead Burma to democracy? The Daily Beast, March 5, 2012, www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/
2012/03/04/can-aung-san-suu-kyi-now-free-lead-burma-to-democracy.html.
4 Jason Burke, Aung San Suu Kyi: the woman who never sought to lead,
The Guardian, June 15, 2012, www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/15/aungsan-suu-kyi-burma.
the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar

Caucus (AIPMC). 22
Kraisak Choonhavan, a Thai lawmaker and vice president of the ASEAN
caucus, also warned, As everyone with
any knowledge on Myanmar will attest,
the changes we have seen to date are
far from irreversible. It is ludicrous to
reward the current governments untested reforms by paving the way for a
gold rush. For instance, he pointed out,
fighting continues in Myanmars ethnic
areas, and many ethnic leaders worry
that the reforms are just a ploy to pave
the way for development projects on
their lands. 23
Removing sanctions is tantamount
to eliminating the very source of leverage that got us here, says Tom Andrews, president of the Washingtonbased human-rights group United to
End Genocide. If sanctions work, why

would you want to get rid of them?
The sanctions should be continued as
an incentive to the Myanmar government to do the right thing, he says.
Removing pressure now, when the
Burmese government escalates its brutality against a long-suffering people
[the Kachin], would be unconscionable.
Andrews, who recently visited the remote state of Kachin, says he saw firsthand some of the atrocities inflicted by
the military on the Kachin people. Women
had been abducted, villages burned to
the ground and families forced to flee
their homes empty-handed. Liberalizing
sanctions risks rewarding the very people who are perpetrating these atrocities, he says. 24
Removing sanctions and international pressure now . . . may under-
July 17, 2012
335
MYANMARS NEW ERA

Living Standards Are Regions Lowest
Although Myanmars per capita gross domestic product (GDP)* has more than
tripled since 2000, it is still the lowest in the region. Now that the military
junta has turned over control to a civilian government and international
economic sanctions against Myanmar have been suspended, the economy is
expected to improve rapidly in the coming years.
Per Capita GDP,* 2000 and 2010
$2,771
Sri Lanka
$5,169
$2,039
Mongolia
$4,020
$1,687
$2,333
Papua/New Guinea
$1,424
Vietnam
$3,143
$1,180
Laos
$2,450
$908
Cambodia
$2,065
2000
2010
$835
Bangladesh
$1,584
$791
$1,269
Nepal
$459
Myanmar
$1,254
1,000
2,000
3,000 4,000
(in $US)
5,000
6,000
* Based on purchasing power comparisons

Source: Myanmar: 2011 Article IV Consultation, International Monetary Fund, www.imf.org/
external/pubs/ft/scr/2012/cr12104.pdf
mine the possibility of positive change

in Burma, says dissident Phan. We
are disappointed that the international
community is losing the opportunity
sanctions provide to pressure Myanmar
to address the human-rights violations
throughout the country.
But advocates of suspending the
sanctions point out that it would result in lifting the restrictions on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Myanmar. Health, education
and even democracy-building programs
are now free to offer their assistance
to long-closed Myanmar.
Pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi, meanwhile, has maintained a careful balance.
336
I am not against the suspension of

sanctions as long as the people of the
United States feel that this is the right
thing to do at the moment, she said.
I do advocate caution, though. . . . I
sometimes feel that people are too optimistic about the scene in Burma. You
have to remember that the democratization process is not irreversible. 25
Should the world community do
more to protect Myanmars ethnic
minorities?
The story in Myanmars state-run
newspaper was disturbing. Nearly 30
Kachin rebels and two members of
the government security force had been
killed in 11 battles during the last

week of April in the northern state of
Kachin, according to The New Light of
Myanmar. 26 Fighting has continued
into the summer despite attempts at
negotiating a cease-fire.
The deaths, the latest in a long-running
conflict between government forces and
autonomy-seeking Kachin rebels, are a
stark reminder that ethnic rebellions
continue to threaten Myanmars reform
movement. In addition to the killings,
thousands of Kachins have fled their
homes in the past year after being tortured and raped. 27
Despite Myanmars promise to pull
back the military last year, the opposite is happening in Kachin, where the
escalation of troops, weapons and brutality continues unabated, says Andrews,
of United to End Genocide.
The Kachin are just one of Myanmars minorities who are still being
abused, including the Karen, the Shan,
Mon, Rohingya and other minorities.
(See sidebar, p. 340.) In addition, many
of the nations minorities are seeing
little benefit from the changes sweeping through Myanmar and feel they
are being left out of talks about their
countrys future.
Joshua Kurlantzick, a fellow at the
Council on Foreign Relations, a think
tank in New York City, pointed out that
ethnic Burmese, known as Burmans, are
running the country and even Suu Kyi,
who is Burman, is not necessarily fully
trusted by a lot of the ethnic groups.
So youre going to have a hard, long
slog to a country that . . . reflects the
interests of all of the people and not
only the Burmans. 28
As a prerequisite for cooperation,
Western governments have insisted that
the Myanmar government stop fighting
with rebel forces and begin engaging
the nations minorities. We all have to
work so our ethnic youths who held
guns stand tall holding laptops, explained President Thein Sein. 29
But, while the government claims
it is reaching out to minorities, reports
from the front lines show little improvement. If these atrocities had
happened in or around Burmas capital, there would be international outrage, said Karen activist Phan.
Some believe that the international
community has been blinded to Myanmars minority abuses by recent optimistic reports of reform.
The world community should pay
as much attention to the persecuted
ethnic minorities in Burma as it does
to Suu Kyi, says Zarni, at the London
School of Economics. Admittedly, her
inspirational life story makes a better
read than hundreds of thousands of
faceless, nameless ethnic minorities that
have suffered myriad forms of atrocities . . . but there is something fundamentally pathetic and pathological about
this utter imbalance of the worlds focus.
Pressuring the government may be
important, but pushing too hard could
be counterproductive, warns Georgetowns Steinberg. Nearly every country
in the region has supported Burmese
dissidents in the past, and the government is justifiably sensitive to outside
entities dealing directly with ethnic minorities, he says. Minorities need to
share power, but thats not something
the international community can impose on them. What we can do is offer
Myanmar programs that aid minorities,
such as training, educational scholarships, institution-building and more.
The Asia Societys DiMaggio agrees.
Ultimately the minorities problem has
to be solved domestically from
within. But there are a lot of experiences learned by other countries that
have gone through this problem that
can help the process along. (Indonesia and Vietnam are often cited as examples for Myanmar.)
The international community can
leverage its aid and investment by offering it on the condition that minorities
benefit. Myanmars minorities, the majority of whom live in undeveloped
regions, suffer from woefully inadequate roads, communications and in-
Economy on Upswing
Inflation has declined dramatically in
Myanmar in recent years, while foreign
investment has skyrocketed. The
improvement is largely attributed to
economic reforms and the opening
of the state-run economy to foreign
investment.
Percent Change in Inflation
25%
22%
20
15
8.2%
10
5
0
Average change,
2000-2009
2010
Foreign Direct Investment

(in $US billions)
$3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
$2.8
$0.2
2001
2010
Source: Myanmar: 2011 Article IV Consultation, International Monetary Fund, www.imf.

org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2012/cr12104.pdf
frastructure. Nations have the power

to say that aid to Myanmar should be
dependent on it benefiting minorities,
says CSIS Hiebert.
As for the United Nations, SecretaryGeneral Ban-ki Moon was the first foreigner to address Myanmars new Parliament in April, but the organization has
had a tougher time helping to resolve
Myanmars conflicts with minorities.
The resurgence of fighting between the Burmese army and Kachin
rebels has displaced tens of thousands
of people, noted the BBC. But the
U.N. has struggled to get the access

it needs to be able to help them. 30
Ban said U.N. activities have been
restricted severely but expressed hope
that member nations would soon be
allowed to aid Myanmars minorities
via full, normal operations. 31
Will the military allow democracy to emerge?
Just before her historic election to
Parliament, opposition leader Suu Kyi
was asked to rate her nations democracy on a scale of one to 10. Were
trying to get to one, she replied. 32
While she probably has raised that
score since her partys resounding win
and taking her seat in Parliament, she
would no doubt agree with those
who believe democracy is still a long
way off.
Indeed, significant hurdles on the
road to democracy still exist, including
the 400,000-strong Myanmar militarys
firm hold on power, thanks largely to
the military-friendly constitution adopted in 2008. Although it was promoted
as part of the nations roadmap to
democracy, The Economist calls it a
document of the army, by the army,
for the army. 33
The constitution dictates that onequarter of Parliaments seats be reserved
for the military, and amendments require agreement by 75 percent of the
body. The president must have military knowledge, and if a state of emergency is declared, absolute powers can
be transferred to the commander in
chief of the armed forces.
Under this constitution Parliament is
virtually powerless, says dissident Phan.
Its the president who appoints the government and offers the people concessions. There is no dialog, no process
of negotiation, no democracy.
Even though President Thein Sein
retired from the army and speaks often
of reform, the military shows no signs
that it is planning to alter the constitution and lessen its grip on power.
On the contrary, at this years Armed
July 17, 2012
337
MYANMARS NEW ERA

liament that is far from a rubber stamp
for government policy. Speaker Thura
Shwe Man, for example formerly
number three in the military junta
is now seen as a moderating force.
Shwe Man has emerged as the
strongest advocate for the strengthening
of the parliamentary system and its independence from government, wrote a
Getty Images/Gamma-Rapho/M. C. Tressin
Forces Day celebrations Army chief

Min Aung Hlaing proclaimed, Protecting the constitution is one of the
main responsibilities of the army as
we build . . . a modern, prosperous
and developed democracy. 34
There are other signs that the military is strengthening its hold on Parliament. According to Thailand-based
Western visitors to Naypyidaw, Myanmars new capital city, have described it as very big and
very empty. Built in 2005 by the then-ruling military junta, Naypiydaw, which means abode
of kings in Burmese, replaced Yangon (formerly Rangoon) as the capital. It was built on a
grand scale, with a 20-lane, usually deserted highway leading to a massive parliamentary
complex containing 31 buildings and a new presidential palace. The grandiose architecture
stands in marked contrast to the rest of the nation, the poorest in Southeast Asia.
journalist Bertil Lintner, a longtime

Myanmar watcher, 59 of the militarys
110 members of parliament were replaced with higher-ranking officers, most
of them considered hardliners. One of
them is a colonel who was in charge
of a deadly 2007 crackdown on Buddhists monks who marched for democracy and national reconciliation.
The struggle for democracy, as Suu
Kyi said, is, at best, perhaps only approaching the end of the beginning,
wrote Lintner. 35
But digging a little deeper, others
say, reveals a military-dominated Par-
338
correspondent for Inside Story, an Australian current affairs journal. He is

known to criticise government ministers
who dont answer questions from representatives properly. He also has
forced through an opposition politicians
proposal for a general amnesty and has
warned that a weak legislature could
lead to the return of tyranny. 36
But others believe the military establishment has no interest in democracy. The military will modify their
hold on power just enough to make
sure that the pent-up, popular anger,
frustration and hatred doesnt reach
the boiling point, again, says Zarni,

at the London School of Economics.
Democracy is antithetical to the military way of thinking, he adds. Militaries all over the world, with no exception, are totalitarian in their
institutional, professional, ideological and
cultural orientations, he says. Democracies are open systems. Fundamentally, the military mindset and democratization are simply irreconcilable.
Georgetowns Steinberg, who has
worked in Myanmar, believes the military will hold fast to its absolute power.
Many of them truly believe that military rule is Myanmars best hope for
development and the best way to prevent a secessionist movement from
fracturing the nation, says Steinberg.
However, Steinberg adds, the military
is not monolithic. It includes many who
are patriotic and outward looking. For
example, under the new constitution there
are elected councils at the state and
township levels, he says. For the first
time in history Myanmars minorities have
some say in the legislature. Its not much,
but its more than a gesture and may be
highly significant down the road.
Such top-down beneficence angers
many dissidents. I am glad for the changes
that have taken place, but we have to
be realistic: My country is not even close
to being free, says Phan. I dont want
to be told by foreign governments that
just because I am from Burma, 20 percent freedom is better than what we had
before. I have a right to 100 percent freedom and democracy.
BACKGROUND
Monarchy Rules
lthough recent research has shown
there were inhabitants in Myanmars Irawaddy Valley as long as 3,500
Continued on p. 340
Chronology
1057-1785
Burma flourishes as a devoutly
1962
Strongman Gen. Ne Win establishes
a socialist military dictatorship.
Buddhist civilization.
1057
King Anawrahta establishes the first
unified Burma at Pagan, with Buddhism as the predominant religion.
1785
King Bodawapaya, also known as
Lord of the White Elephants, becomes ruler of all of Burma.
1975-1991
Internal strife threatens military rule

but is quickly suppressed.
1975
Opposition National Democratic
Front formed by regional minority
groups.
1885-1937
Burma
becomes a British colony.
1885-86
Britain captures Burmas royal capital, Mandalay; Burma becomes a
province of British India.
1937
Burma becomes a British colony.
1942-1962
Burma sides first with Japan
then the Allies in World War II;
eventually achieves independence.
1942
Japan occupies Burma aided by
Burma Independence Army, which
later resists Japanese rule.
1987
Currency devaluation wipes out
many peoples savings and triggers
anti-government riots.
1988
Military government declares martial
law, arrests thousands of protesters,
renames the country Myanmar and
places activist Aung San Suu Kyi,
daughter of Gen. Aung San, under
house arrest.
1990
National League for Democracy
(NLD) wins general election, but
military junta ignores the results.
1991
Suu Kyi wins Nobel Peace Prize.
2001-Present
After several false starts, the
1945
Britain liberates Burma from Japanese occupation aided by the Burma
Army, led by Gen. Aung San.
government begins adopting political reforms. Suu Kyi emerges

as leader of Myanmars opposition party; many nations suspend sanctions.
1948
Burma becomes independent;
Burmese nationalist U Nu becomes
prime minister.
2001
Government releases some 200
pro-democracy activists from jail.
2002
Suu Kyi is released after nearly 20
months of house arrest but then
taken into protective custody.
2007
Protests erupt after fuel price hikes;
activists are arrested.
2008
Government adopts new constitution;
bans Suu Kyi from holding office.
2009
NLD offers to take part in planned
elections if the government frees all
political prisoners, changes the constitution and admits international
observers.
2009
Suu Kyi begins talks with Burmas
military leaders about democratization.
2010
Main military-backed party claims
election victory but opposition alleges fraud. Suu Kyi is released.
2011
U Thein Sein, a retired general, is
sworn in as president of a new,
nominally civilian government. He
announces proposed reforms, frees
some political prisoners and meets
with Suu Kyi.
2012
Government signs ceasefire with
rebels of Karen ethnic group. . . .
NLD candidates dominate parliamentary by-elections; European
Union suspends all nonmilitary
sanctions against Myanmar for a
year. Other nations follow; communal violence breaks out between
Rakhine Buddhists and the Muslim
Rohingya minority on the
Bangladeshi border; state of emergency is declared.
July 17, 2012
339
MYANMARS NEW ERA
A Patchwork Quilt of Ethnic Minorities

Can political reforms resolve Myanmars ethnic conflicts?
ighting has re-erupted recently between the Myanmar government and the minority Kachin Independence Army
(KIA) after a 17-year ceasefire broke down a year ago.
Some 75,000 Kachins have been forced from their homes and
are in desperate need of food, medicine and shelter, according to Human Rights Watch. 1
Displaced Kachin civilians described being forced to work
on the front lines for the Burmese army, enduring torture, and
being fired upon by soldiers, said the rights group. Burmese
troops have deliberately and indiscriminately attacked Kachin
civilians with small arms and mortars, the report continued,
and there is evidence of systematic rape and torture of Kachin
women by Burmese soldiers. 2
The KIA has long been fighting for autonomy for the Kachin,
a minority group living in Kachin state on Burmas northern
border with China.
The Kachin are among the more than 130 distinct ethnic
groups in Myanmar, one of the worlds most ethnically diverse
nations. Its rugged, mountainous terrain has long kept ethnic
groups isolated from one another and from the majority Burmese,
who account for about 68 percent of the population.
Each group struggles to protect its unique language, culture
and natural resources as vital to its identity. However, the government has long sought to suppress internal conflict between
minority groups, such as the violence that erupted in June between the Muslim Rohingya minority and Buddhists in western Myanmar that has left at least 80 dead. 3
The government also sees ethnic nationalism as a threat to
Continued from p. 338
years ago, Myanmar has its roots in

the rise of the Pagan Dynasty in the
11th century, a period known as the
Golden Age of Myanmars history. 37
King Anawartha unified all of Myanmar and promoted Theravada Buddhism (the oldest form of Buddhism)
by building thousands of temples, pagodas, monasteries and libraries.
The construction continued under future kings, and Pagan, the capital of the
isolated Buddhist country, eventually
boasted more than 10,000 temples, about
2,000 of which remain; the rest fell victim to earthquakes and neglect. 38 Pagan
flourished for several centuries, becoming along with the Khmer Empire
one of the two main empires in
340
the countrys stability. Indeed, many ethnic groups have been

advocating and fighting for some form of autonomy from
the central government for decades. As longtime Myanmar observer Tom Fawthrop noted, Karen, Kachin, Chin, Shan and
other dissident ethic forces have been demanding equal rights
and local autonomy for more than 40 years, and their repression at the hands of the military has thwarted any attempt to
create a genuine Union of Burma based on its myriad cultures
and diversity. 4
Years of government abuse, exploitation and neglect led to
many long and bloody insurgencies against the nations military rulers. More than two dozen armed militias and sophisticated military units such as the Karen National Union, the
Shan State Army and the New Mon State Party have been
involved in these long-simmering conflicts. 5
Myanmars major minority groups include the:
Rohingya An estimated 800,000 Muslims who live in
the western state of Arakan and have long been refused citizenship by the government. Stateless, most of the Rohingya are
forced by the government to live in crowded camps and cannot leave without permission.
Karen The second-largest ethnic group after the Burmans (estimates range to seven million), the Karens live in the
region bordering Thailand and have recently relaunched their
half-century war for self determination.
Chin The 1.5 million largely Christian Chin (first converted by American Baptist missionaries) have been engaged
in on-again, off-again civil war with the Myanmar government
mainland Southeast Asia.

However, in the 13th century
wracked by internal disorders and invasions from outside forces such as
the Mongols, the Shans and the Mons
the strongly Buddhist kingdom went
into decline. Pagan was sacked by the
Mongols in 1287.
The empire would not be unified again
until the 16th century under the ruler
Bayinnaung Kyawhtin Nawrahta. An expansionist and an effective military commander, he eventually extended his rule
to cover the area that encompasses modern Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. His
aggression is much admired by the military rulers of todays Burma, for whom
he is a role model, writes Dinar Godrej,
co-editor of the New Internationalist. 39
Myanmar would once again split

apart but was eventually rebuilt into
a smaller, more manageable kingdom
in the 17th century, when long-standing
political and legal systems were introduced. By the middle of the 18th century, Myanmar had been reunited and
its rulers waged a series of expansionist wars against its neighbors, including
Siam (modern Thailand), Laos and China.
Road to Independence
yanmars expansion into Britishoccupied India led to the first of
three Anglo-Burmese wars in 1824,
1852 and 1885. They ended with the
British controlling all of Myanmar, an-
Robert Kiener
1
Burma: reforms yet to reach Kachin state, Human Rights Watch, March 20,
2012, www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/20/burma-reforms-yet-reach-kachin-state.
nexing it as a province of British India

in 1886.
As they had done in India, the British
instituted dramatic changes in their
new colonial outpost renamed
Burma mining its abundant timber,
oil and minerals for export. They imported Indian civil servants, created
divisions between Myanmars ethnic
minorities and often diluted traditional Burmese culture with the introduction of British traditions. The Burmese
eventually lost control of their own
economy and grew increasingly resentful of their colonial overlords.
Large corporations were often
European-owned, Georgetowns Steinberg has written. The Indians dominated much of the trade and were fol-
AFP/Getty Images/Munir Uz Zaman
for decades, often complaining of religious persecution by the

ruling junta.
Shan Based in the northeast, the Buddhist Shan (six million) have suffered forced relocations by the Myanmar military.
Many also have escaped conscription into the Myanmar military and have fled into Thailand.
Even though Myanmar has never been truly at peace, recent political reforms have brought new hopes for reconciliation or a resolution to some of these conflicts. Ceasefire agreements have been signed with many groups, with mixed results,
and there is mounting international pressure for the government to resolve smoldering minority issues.
In fact, many countries that recently relaxed or suspended sanctions against Myanmar did so with the condition that the government improve relations with, and the conditions among, these longneglected groups. Unifying these minority groups under a nation-state
is seen by many as the key to Myanmars future success.
The world community needs to pressure the nations military rulers to first stop abusing the human rights of Myanmars
minorities and, second, work towards uniting the country, says
Karen dissident and noted human-rights activist Zoya Phan, herself an exile from her Karen homeland. Until then, the country cannot have a future.
A terrified Rohingya Muslim clings to a member of the Bangladeshi

Coast Guard on June 19, 2012, before being sent back to
Myanmar. He had tried to escape sectarian violence in Myanmar
by crossing the Naf River into Bangladesh. President U Thein Sein
declared a state of emergency in Myanmars western state of
Rakhine after recent violence between Buddhists and Muslims
killed at least 80 people and displaced up to
90,000 Rohingya Muslims.
2
Ibid.
Myanmar arrests 30 over killing of 10 Muslims, Times of India, July 3, 2012,
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-03/rest-of-world/32522562_1_
violence-in-rakhine-state-myanmar-newspaper-myanmar-arrests.
4 Tom Fawthrop, Will reform bring Burma peace? The Diplomat, May 16,
2012, http://thediplomat.com/2012/05/16/will-reform-bring-burma-peace/. For
background, see Brian Beary, Separatist Movements, CQ Global Researcher,
April 1, 2008, pp. 85-114.
5 Nicholas Farrelly, Burma and the road to normality, Inside Story, March 8,
2012, http://inside.org.au/burma-and-the-road-to-normality/.
3
lowed by the Chinese, who emigrated

into the country. . . . From the Burmese
perspective, the Burmese were being
deprived of their own heritage. 40
The British quashed any resistance
to their rule, and it wasnt until the
1920s that university students were
joined by fellow citizens and Buddhist
monks in a series of strikes and rebellions aimed at restoring Myanmars
autonomy. One of the most effective
student protesters was law student Aung
San Suu Kyis father who would
soon emerge as a leader in Myanmars
upcoming independence movement.
At the beginning of World War II,
Aung San and 29 other young proindependence Burmese, known as the
Thirty Comrades, went to Japan where
they underwent military training and

subsequently fought alongside the
Japanese against the British. The
Japanese had promised the young dissidents that Burma would be free after
the British were defeated.
Eventually, Aung San and his followers grew disenchanted with the Japanese and switched sides in 1945, helping
the British and U.S. forces defeat the
Japanese. By wars end, then-Gen. Aung
San demanded from the British complete
political and economic freedom for Burma.
A constitution was completed in
1947. Aung San and his new government also negotiated agreements with
the countrys various ethnic minorities
to agree to join a unified nation, the
Union of Burma. He was trusted by
July 17, 2012
341
MYANMARS NEW ERA

the minorities; no other leader at the
time or since then has played such a
role, wrote Steinberg. He advocated
some type of federalism with the minority areas and suggested sharing the
states resources with them, but the
idea has been ignored by all subsequent governments. 41
Although much of the country had
been devastated by World War II, the
new nation was hopeful. But on July 19,
1947, a political opponent assassinated
Aung San and several of his ministers.
Independence was finally formalized in
January 1948 and U Nu, a longtime colleague of San, headed up the new government.
Unrest marred Nus reign. A series
of challenges ensued from communist
groups, Kuomintang Chinese nationalist forces in northern Myanmar and
ethnic groups seeking autonomy. The
civil strife, a worsening economy and
political divisions within the ruling party
prompted the military to take over the
government in 1958.
Elections in 1960 reinstated Nu, but
the military, led by strongman Ne Win,
staged a coup in 1962, ushering in
Myanmars half-century-long decline
under its ill-fated military dictatorship.
Isolationist Socialism
e Win and his cronies wasted no
time dismantling any institution
that could threaten military control.
The constitution was suspended and
opposition political parties banned.
The military and their sympathizers
announced formation of the Burma
Socialist Programme Party, which instituted sweeping socialist polices
under the banner, Burmese Way to
Socialism.
All major industries were nationalized. Much of Myanmar was closed off
to the world. Free expression was curtailed. Elections were eliminated. Human
rights were ignored and any opposition was quickly trampled. In 1962 the
342
military killed dozens of students who

were protesting peacefully at Rangoon
University. Martial law was often declared, and the military brutally crushed
demonstrations.
The junta waged continual wars
against ethnic-minority rebel groups
along the frontiers, such as the Kachin.
Superstitious, xenophobic and ruthless,
for the next three decades, Ne Win set
a thriving nation on a disastrous path
of cultural, environmental and economic
ruin, according to a history of Burma
by the Canadian Friends of Burma, a
pro-democracy group. 42
Under Ne Wins isolationist socialism, Myanmars economy deteriorated,
and in 1987 the United Nations declared Myanmar a least developed country. A year later, rice shortages, other
economic woes and general frustration led to widespread demonstrations
across the country. The military took
a hard-line approach and killed an estimated 10,000 demonstrators and arrested and tortured others during what
was called Democracy Summer and
the 8888 Uprising.
Blaming the disorder on communist infiltrators, senior military officers
staged a coup and declared martial law.
The leaders pledged that elections
would be held after peace was restored. They placed Suu Kyi recently returned from abroad and head
of the newly formed NLD opposition
party under house arrest. Rulers
also changed the name back to Myanmar, which they said was more ethnically inclusive. Most of the world,
including the United Nations, accepted the change. However the United
States, the U.K. and Burmese opposition groups did not accept the name
change, claiming that it was the action of an illegal government. 43
Military leaders allowed an election
to be held in 2000, but after the NLD
scored a resounding victory (even
though their party leader was still
under house arrest), the junta refused
to relinquish power and imprisoned
many political activists.

The military continued to crack
down on dissent and enrich itself by
controlling the economy. Suu Kyi was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991
yet was still under house arrest by the
junta. In 1993, a year after hard-line
Gen. Than Shwe took power, the government announced it would draft a
new constitution to prepare Myanmar
for eventual democracy, but the announcement was considered a sham.
The government did manage to sign
several ceasefire agreements with insurgent groups during the decade.
In 2002 Suu Kyi was allowed to
travel around the country and drew
large crowds wherever she went. Then
in May 2003 she and her supporters
were attacked by a pro-government
mob. She survived but some of her
bodyguards and associates were injured or killed.
In 2007, after spikes in fuel prices,
pro-democracy groups led peaceful
demonstrations. The junta responded
by jailing more dissidents. Buddhist
monks across the country took up
the cause, and some were violently
attacked by security forces. In Rangoon hundreds were detained, and
an estimated 30 protesters were
killed. Monks were beaten, disrobed
and arrested in what became known
as the Saffron Revolution. 44
The attacks on monks, long revered
in this deeply religious nation, caused
a severe blow to the juntas prestige.
As historian Michael Charney noted,
The violence with which the regime
suppressed peaceful monastic protest
represents . . . a historical watershed
in the relationship between the Burmese
state and the monastic order. 45
All the good will and political legitimacy that the military has sought
through its public Buddhist works [such
as building temples and supporting
monks and monasteries] and its continuous emphasis on Buddhism was
destroyed in this crackdown, wrote
Steinberg. 46
Winds of Change
hen Thein Sein was inaugurated president in March 2011,
few believed it would herald any real
change. Thus, many were surprised
when, during his inaugural address,
he delivered a frank assessment of
the nations social, political and economic problems.
He gave top priority to national unity,

explaining, lip services and talks are not
enough to obtain national unity. 48 He
stressed the importance of a market economy and announced the opening of
Myanmar to international investors. Regarding the market economy, we will
communities and initiate ceasefires

where applicable. He invited exiles to
return to Myanmar and freed many political prisoners. In March, during his
one-year anniversary address, he reiterated that the governments goal was
to introduce genuine democracy. 51
AFP/Getty Images/Saul Loeb
Perhaps hoping to regain some of

its credibility, the government in 2008
established a committee to draft a new
constitution and said elections would
be held in 2010. As in previous attempts, the constitution proved to be
heavily rigged in the militarys favor.
Over the next few years, military leaders cracked down even harder on dissidents and extended Suu Kyis house
arrest. However, after the November
2010 election, she was finally released.
Some believe the government felt her
party no longer represented a great
political threat to the government.
Myanmars first parliamentary election in two decades was held on
Nov. 7, 2010, but it was widely
viewed as rigged, riddled with voter
intimidation and bribery. Suu Kyi and
the NLD boycotted the election.
Thein Sein, a recently retired general, headed up the pro-government
Union Solidarity and Development
Party and became prime minister.
U.S. President Barack Obama accused the junta of stealing the election and said, When peaceful democratic movements are suppressed, as
in Burma, then the democracies of the
world cannot remain silent. For it is
unacceptable to gun down peaceful
protesters and incarcerate political
prisoners decade after decade. It is unacceptable to hold the aspirations of
an entire people hostage to the greed
and paranoia of a bankrupt regime. It
is unacceptable to steal an election as
the regime has done again for all the
world to see. 47
President U Thein Sein meets with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in his
ornate office in Naypyidaw on Dec. 1, 2011. Clintons visit to Myanmar was the first by a
U.S. secretary of State in more than 50 years, reflecting a thaw in relations with the West
following the militarys turnover of some power to a civilian government.
open doors, make reforms and invite investments as necessary for development
of the nation and the people. 49
After conferring with civilian experts, the new president announced a
series of economic reforms and, even
more surprisingly, the Parliament debated legislative reforms.
In August Thein Sein met with Suu
Kyi, a historic event that would result in
the opposition leader agreeing to bring
her party back into the political fold by
re-registering and competing in the 2012
by-elections. State television reported
that the pair had engaged in frank and
friendly discussions in order to find
ways and means of cooperation. 50
Thein Sein and the legislators also
agreed to investigate how to solve
long-standing disputes with the minority
Hardliners, such as Vice President

Tin Aung Myint Oo, began to lose
favor, and even skeptics began talking
about significant reforms and changes
in the air. Finally, Suu Kyi and her NLD
party ran in the April 1 by-elections
and scored a landslide victory, taking
43 of the 45 contested seats.
Suddenly, the world was watching
the long-isolated nation with a growing
sense of optimism. As the International
Crisis Group reported recently, One year
after the new Myanmar government took
office, a remarkably rapid transition is
underway. The president has made clear
that he intends to do much more to accelerate democratic reform, rebuild the
economy, promote ethnic peace, improve
the rule of law and heal the bitter
wounds of the past. 52
July 17, 2012
343
MYANMARS NEW ERA
CURRENT
SITUATION
Democracy at Risk
uu Kyi enjoyed a two-week whirlwind trip to Europe in mid-June,
during which she belatedly received her
1991 Nobel Peace Prize, and was awarded an honorary degree by Oxford, granted an audience with the Dalai Lama
and serenaded by pop icon Bono. The
world was entranced by her courage
and stoic elegance, and the 67-year-old
political dissident became the new face
of Myanmar to millions around the world.
However, as she was making speeches, giving interviews and collecting
awards, parts of her homeland were
roiling with sectarian violence. After at
least 80 killings and the forced displacement of up to 90,000 Rohingya
Muslims, President Thein Sein declared
a state of emergency in the western
state of Rakhine. 53 The dramatic contrast clearly showed that while much of
the world now sees Myanmar as a country on the road to democracy, in reality it is a fragile, vulnerable state, just
beginning to experiment with reform.
The most recent outbreak of violence like many modern tragedies
in Myanmar involves one of the
countrys minorities. In this case it was
the Rohingya, the largely stateless Muslim minority of 800,000 that lives in
northwest Myanmar near the border
with Bangladesh. Long-persecuted and
refused citizenship by the government,
the Rohingya are considered illegal immigrants with no rights.
The recent violence apparently erupted after local Buddhists beat a group
of Muslim pilgrims to death, reportedly to avenge an alleged gang rape and
murder of a Buddhist woman by three
Muslim men. 54 Long-simmering racial
344
and religious tensions ignited, and violence spread to several towns within the
remote state.
After declaring martial law, Thein Sein
warned in a televised address: If this
endless anarchic vengeance and deadly acts continue . . . it can severely affect peace and tranquility and our nascent
democratic reforms and the development of the country. 55 With growing
Internet access and a more open press,
the government undoubtedly fears that
regional protests could spread.
To escape the violence, hundreds
of Rohingya fled in rickety boats to
Bangladesh. 56 But instead of welcoming
their fellow Muslims, Bangladeshi authorities refused them entry and forced
them back to sea. A Bangladeshi border guard recently explained, This is
an overpopulated country. The country
doesnt have the capacity to accommodate these additional people. 57 (In the
past more than 300,000 Rohingya have
fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh.) 58
Bangladesh is putting the lives of
those fleeing violence including young
children at risk by sending them
back to Burma, said Bill Frelick, refugees
director at Human Rights Watch. 59
Others say Myanmars long history
of human-rights violations is the core
of the problem, noting that the countrys leaders have long closed their eyes
to abuses against the Rohingya. For
many Myanmar observers, the worlds
reluctance to help the Rohingya symbolizes an unwillingness to aid Myanmars large, long-persecuted, minority
populations, many of whom feel they
are being left out of Myanmars economic and political changes.
Meanwhile, the Rohingya and others, including the Kachin and the Karen,
continue to look to the world for help.
Our appeal is to the U.N., foreign
nations, the Myanmar government and
especially to Suu Kyi, said Mohammad
Islam, leader of the Rohingya refugees
living in the Nayapara refugee camp in
the Bangladeshi border town of Teknaf. We heard the relations between
the government and Suu Kyi have mended, and there are now reforms sweeping the country. But for Rohingya, these
changes mean nothing. 60
Counterbalancing China
o veteran Asia-watchers, the timing
of Secretary Clintons historic visit
to Myanmar last November the first
by a senior American official in nearly half a century was telling. Not
only did it follow the momentous meeting between Suu Kyi and Thein Sein,
but it came shortly after Myanmar had
suspended a major $3.6 billion dam
project with China, its most recent effort to distance itself from its neighboring superpower.
While most of the world was shunning Myanmar in recent decades, China
was becoming its biggest investor and
trading partner, investing $14 billion
more than a third of the countrys
total investment mostly in the energy sector. 61 Myanmar exports oil,
hydropower and natural gas.
But as China siphoned off Myanmars oil, gas, timber and other natural resources with the Burmese people receiving few jobs or training in
return Chinas interests came to be
seen as largely one-sided. There has
been a growing wave of anti-China sentiment in Myanmar, says the Asia Societys DiMaggio. Many are not happy
with the way China has invested and
not benefited the people, while often
devastating the environment.
Some observers believe Thein Sein
and his government courted the West
to counterbalance Chinas dominance.
Many senior military leaders were
leery of depending too much on one
strategic partner, especially one that
backed their Communist Party opponents in the 1960s and 70s.
Thein Sein may have invited the
United States into the region as a player in the new Asian Great Game, the
Continued on p. 346
At Issue:
Are countries moving too quickly to remove sanctions on Myanmar?
yes
ZOYA PHAN
SUZANNE DIMAGGIO
CAMPAIGNS MANAGER, BURMA CAMPAIGN,

UK; HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY IS PUBLISHED
AS UNDAUNTED IN THE UNITED STATES,
AND AS LITTLE DAUGHTER ABROAD.
VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL POLICY PROGRAMS

ASIA SOCIETY
WRITTEN FOR CQ GLOBAL RESEARCHER, JULY 2012
WRITTEN FOR CQ GLOBAL RESEARCHER, JULY 2012
anctions against Burma were introduced in response to

severe human-rights abuses. The military dictatorship
detained hundreds of political prisoners and waged
war against ethnic people, with the Burmese Army committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, enforcing slave
labour, recruiting child soldiers and denying free speech and
other fundamental liberties.
Sanctions were meant to apply pressure for change and as
a punishment. Last year sanctions began having an impact:
Some political prisoners were released, censorship was slightly
relaxed and the military government reached out to the international community in an effort to end its pariah status. After
so much debate about whether or not sanctions were working, it has been shocking to see how, just as their positive impact was being realized, so many sanctions have now been
dropped or suspended.
Even more surprising, this is occurring even though not
one human-rights benchmark has been met by the government. Hundreds of political prisoners remain in jail, more
people are still being arrested and tortured and some who
have been released were not released unconditionally.
Another benchmark was ending ethnic conflict. Ethnic
conflict has increased since Thein Sein became president.
Ceasefires were broken first in Shan state, then in Kachin
state. The human-rights abuses being committed are horrific:
gang-rape of ethnic women by Burmese soldiers, farmers
shot on sight in their fields, villages burned, torture and executions, forced labour.
Human-rights abuses have actually increased in the past
year. The number of ethnic people forced to flee their homes
because of abuses and attacks by the Burmese Army has
more than doubled. New ceasefires may have been signed
with some ethnic groups, but conflict and abuses have increased overall.
None of the repressive laws introduced during 50 years of
dictatorship has been repealed. Burmas new constitution gives
the military ultimate power over government and Parliament.
I am not denying that significant changes have taken place
and that these need to be encouraged, but by moving so
quickly to remove sanctions on Burma, the United States, the
European Union and others are undermining the incentive for
further and deeper reform. The cost could be prolonging the
suffering of my people.
he debate over what role sanctions have played in bringing about the remarkable turn of events in Burma will
continue for some time to come. But we can be sure that
increased U.S. engagement and a loosening of sanctions are
spurring the reform process in Burma.
Over the past 18 months, President Thein Sein has instituted sweeping reforms, including releasing political prisoners,
passing laws ensuring freedom of assembly, legalizing trade
unions and promoting democratic processes that led to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyis election to Parliament.
In response, there is bipartisan U.S. congressional support
for the administrations easing of some economic restrictions
against Burma while maintaining sanctions on the military. The
Treasury Department in April allowed educational and nonprofit institutions to support development and humanitarian
projects. In May, the United States announced it was suspending the ban on U.S. investments and the export of financial
services. Other Western countries followed suit.
Greater U.S. business activity in Burma will help promote
durable economic reforms which currently are being
outpaced by political reforms create foundations for a
market economy, build up the rule of law, reduce corruption, advance transparent investment and strengthen economic institutions.
During this fragile transition period, U.S. policy should
focus on strengthening the hand of reformers so they can
demonstrate that their efforts are gaining rewards. In a povertystricken country with an output per capita of about $850, improving living standards will be a key test. Meanwhile, U.S.
support will help empower reformers seeking to peacefully resolve long-simmering ethnic and religious conflicts and end
human-rights abuses in Burmas ethnic areas.
Because the United States is suspending rather than rescinding certain sanctions, the possibility remains that they
could be re-imposed if progress stops or reverses. This calibrated approach allows the Obama administration to continue to actively test the Burmese governments commitment to
reform while providing concrete leverage to push for positive
change.
Looking ahead, the United States and Burma must work together so the two countries can get beyond the transactional
nature of the current relationship and move toward greater
normalization.
yes no
no
July 17, 2012
345
AFP/Getty Images/Soe Than Win
MYANMARS NEW ERA
Newly appointed military representatives of the Myanmar Parliament take the oath of office
on April 23, 2012. The military says it has turned over power to a civilian government,
but skeptics say the junta retains a firm hold on the legislature. For instance,
the constitution reserves one-fourth of parliaments seats for the military,
and the president must have military knowledge.
Continued from p. 344
U.S.-China rivalry in Asia and the Pacific. As The Economist recently noted,
Now the Obama administration has
declared that the Asia-Pacific region is
Americas new priority, and in the strategic game taking shape in South-East
Asia, America is strengthening alliances
in the light of Chinas rise. If Myanmar
could be realigned more towards the
West, that would be a great prize. 62
Although both China and the U.S.
play it down, there is a real geostrategic
component to the Burma situation, explains DiMaggio. Seeing China dominate
Burma did not sit well with the U.S.
Indeed, the United States wasted no
time in investigating Myanmars strategic possibilities. During a recent trip
to Asia, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon
Panetta affirmed U.S. willingness to
improve military ties with Myanmar. 63
As Myanmar moves forward, it must
walk a fine line between opening up
to the West and not alienating China.
346
Suddenly, one of the most isolated countries in the world has been thrust center stage and will be judged on how
it lives up to its new name, Myanmar,
which means that which is central.
Open for Business

After 60 years, Coca-Cola Inc. hopes
to reenter the Burmese market as soon
as it can obtain a license from the U.S.
government to do business in Myanmar. 64 Other corporate giants, such
as General Electric and Caterpillar, are
following Cokes lead.
Western firms are excited by the
countrys big population, abundant
natural resources and palpable demand for modern products and services, The Economist noted. Myanmars clocks stopped sometime in the
early 1960s after the generals took
over, so its citizens are hungry for
just about everything. 65
With sanctions suspended, Myanmar is being flooded by a tsunami of

hopeful investors from hoteliers to oil
and mining companies to textile and
clothing makers. In April, after the
Obama administration lifted most prohibitions on Americans doing business
in Myanmar, Clinton proclaimed, So
today we say to American business:
Invest in Burma. 66
In mid-June Thein Sein announced
a second wave of economic reforms
designed to triple the nations gross domestic product by 2016. He also
pledged to open industries such as logging and telecommunications to foreign
investors. 67
But while the opportunities are attractive, the challenges are massive.
Myanmar is rushing to reform its economic and legal systems and draw up
new investment laws. The banking
and currency systems need overhauling. Corruption is rampant.
However, change is already happening. At a recent investment conference in Yangon, representatives from
more than 250 international companies heard a government minister describe the many reforms being made
by offering this Burmese proverb: The
more pleasant the house, the more
guests will come. 68
One wonders if any of the potential investors recalled British author
Rudyard Kiplings famous comment:
This is Burma, and it will be quite
unlike any land you know about.
OUTLOOK
Irreversible Reforms?
iven the massive changes that have
occurred over the past year, many
longtime Myanmar watchers chuckle
when asked where the country will
be in 10 or 20 years.
Only a year ago no one could

have guessed wed be where we are
today, much less where well be in a
decade, admits Georgetown professor Steinberg.
Many believe Myanmars reforms,
although fragile, will be difficult to reverse. Even if the military becomes
displeased with the way the country
is changing, it will be difficult to go
back on these reforms, says Steinberg.
Others agree, saying a freer press,
greater Internet access and the widespread introduction of mobile phones
will make it extremely difficult for an
authoritative government to put the
genie back in the bottle.
While reforms may be irreversible,
experts say theyll also be gradual and
will proceed at different rates. For example, political reforms will most likely outpace economic reforms. Given
the countrys high level of corruption,
it will be difficult to weed that out
and sanitize the process, says the Asia
Societys DiMaggio.
Mistakes will undoubtedly be
made, as inexperienced officials and
legislators are asked to make major
decisions. After decades of top-down
authoritarian rule, Myanmars bureaucrats must adapt to an entirely
new management model, and government ministries already are overwhelmed with changes being imposed on them.
The 2015 national election will say
a lot about Myanmars future. The governments Union Solidarity and Development Party will face a real challenge winning seats against Suu Kyis
NLD. And the pro-democracy leader
will face her own dilemma. Under the
present constitution she does not qualify for the presidency because she is
not in the military. But, although she
wants to change the constitution, she
cannot do that unless the military agrees
with her and trusts her.
Myanmars fate depends on how
the military reacts to reform and the
possibility of losing political and eco-
nomic power. Zarni, at the London

School of Economics, predicts Myanmar will be stuck in a political twilight zone over the next few decades:
It will be neither crudely military rule
nor a democracy. The economy will
remain firmly in the grip of the generals, ex-generals, their cronies and
foreign interests. Sectarian strife will
continue because there is no [credible] reconciliation effort . . . at the national level.
People are justifiably wary of the
military. People worry that these are
the same people who ruled the country with an iron fist for decades, and
they fear that the tide might reverse
itself just as quickly, says DiMaggio.
As Karen dissident Phan explains,
The military is still in charge. Theyve
just changed their clothes and improved
their public relations.
But political reform cannot succeed
without economic progress, says Steinberg. If the government does not turn
the shattered economy around and
spread its benefits to Myanmars impoverished citizens, instability will
likely force a return to authoritarian
rule, he adds. Reconciling with Myanmars minorities and addressing past
abuses is also imperative, according
to DiMaggio.
Given the staggering challenges
that confront Myanmar, its not surprising that Suu Kyi encouraged cautious optimism when considering its
transition. If I advocate cautious optimism, it is not because I do not have
faith in the future but because I do
not want to encourage blind faith,
she said. 69
Notes
1 Thomas Fuller, Myanmars opposition leader
takes her seat in Parliament, The New York

Times, May 3, 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/
05/03/world/asia/daw-aung-san-suu-kyi-myanmarparliament-oath.html.
2 Esmer Golluoglo, Aung San Suu Kyi hails

new era for Burma after landslide victory, The
Guardian, April 2, 2012, www.guardian.co.
uk/world/2012/apr/02/aung-san-suu-kyi-newera-burma.
3 Darren Schueltter, Myanmar says democracy roadmap only way forward, Reuters,
March 7, 2008, http://burmadigest.info/2008/
03/07/myanmar-says-democracy-roadmap-onlyway-forward/.
4 Burma government signs cease fire with
Karen rebels, BBC News, Jan. 12, 2012, www.
bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16523691.
5 Nicholas Farrelly, Burma and the road to
normality, Inside Story, March 8, 2012, http://
inside.org.au/burma-and-the-road-to-normality/.
6 Slobodan Lekic, EU suspends Myanmar
sanctions after reforms, The Associated Press,
April 23, 2102, www.washingtontimes.com/
news/2012/apr/23/eu-suspends-myanmarsanctions-after-reforms/.
7 William Wan, U.S. eases investment ban on
Burma, The Washington Post, April 5, 2012,
www.washingtonpost.com/world/nationalsecurity/us-eases-investment-ban-on-burma/
2012/05/17/gIQAJpeVWU_story.html.
8 Lekic, op. cit.
9 Zoe Daniel, Australia pledges millions in
education aid to Burma, ABC News, June 9,
2012, www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-09/carrannounces-school-funding-for-burma/4061872.
10 Steven Lee Myers and Seth Mydans, U.S.
restores full ties to Myanmar after rapid reforms,
The New York Times, Jan. 13, 2012, www.ny
times.com/2012/01/14/world/asia/united-statesresumes-diplomatic-relations-with-myanmar.
html?pagewanted=all.
11 Statement at the Conclusion of the 2011
Article IV Mission to Myanmar, Press Release
No. 12/25, International Monetary Fund, Jan. 25,
2012, www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2012/
pr1225.htm.
12 Literacy and Lifelong Learning, UNESCO,
www.unescobkk.org/education/literacy-andcontinuing-education/activities/communitylearning-centres-clcs/clc-country-profiles/
myanmar/.
13 World Health Report 2000, Health Systems: Improving Performance, World Health
Organization, 2000, www.who.int/whr/2000/e
n/whr00_en.pdf.
14 Corruptions Perception Index 2011, Transparency International, 2011, http://cpi.trans
parency.org/cpi2011/results/.
15 License to Rape, The Shan Human Rights
Foundation and The Shan Womens Action
Network, May 2002, www.burmacampaign.
July 17, 2012
347
MYANMARS NEW ERA

org.uk/reports/License_to_rape.pdf.
16 Fast Facts on Burma, U.S. Campaign for
Burma, 2007, http://tapioca.tv/blog/wp-content/
uploads/2007/12/burmabooklet.pdf. For background, see Jina Moore, Confronting Rape
as a War Crime, CQ Global Researcher, May 1,
2010, pp. 105-130; and Sarah Glazer, Womens
Rights, CQ Global Researcher, April 3, 2012,
pp. 153-180.
17 World Report 2012: Burma, Human Rights
Watch, www.hrw.org/world-report-2012/worldreport-2012-burma.
18 See copy of letter at www.scribd.com/doc/
92396869/Letter-to-Administration-RegardingBurma-Sanctions.
19 Matthew Pennington, Jim Webb supports
trade with Burma, The Associated Press, The
Irawaddy, April 20, 2012, www.irrawaddy.org/
archives/2776.
20 Remarks by Senator John McCain at CSIS
on U.S. interests in Asia, U.S. Senate, May 12,
2012, www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?
FuseAction=PressOffice.Speeches&Content
Record_id=4c62c413-fccb-c9b5-83b7-677faea
96afe&Region_id=&Issue_id=.
21 Thomas Fuller and Paul Geitner, European
Union suspends most Myanmar sanctions,
The New York Times, April 24, 2012, www.ny
times.com/2012/04/24/world/asia/eu-suspendssanctions-on-myanmar.html.
22 Asia Sentinel, Asean lawmakers call for continued U.S. sanctions, The Irawaddy, May 21,
2012, www.irrawaddy.org/archives/4619.
23 Ibid.
24 Tom Andrews, Lifting sanctions on Burmas
regime would be a mistake, The Washington
Post, April 8, 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/

opinions/lifting-sanctions-on-burmas-regimewould-be-a-mistake/2012/04/08/gIQAOGhd4
S_story.html.
25 Shaun Tandon, Suu Kyi says it may be
too optimistic to lift Burma sanctions just
yet, National Post, May 15, 2012, http://news.
nationalpost.com/2012/05/15/suu-kyi-says-itmay-be-too-optimistic-to-lift-burma-sanctionsjust-yet/.
26 State Media: 31 dead in latest Kachin
clashes, The Associated Press, May 5, 2012,
www.irawaddy.org/archives/3691.
27 Burma: Reforms yet to reach Kachin state,
Human Rights Watch, March 20, 2012, www.
hrw.org/news/2012/03/20/burma-reforms-yetreach-kachin-state.
28 U.S. policy options toward Myanmar,
Council on Foreign Relations, May 3, 2012, www.
cfr.org/burmamyanmar/us-policy-options-toward-myanmar/p28170.
29 U Thein Sein vows focus on reconciliation,
equality, Myanmar Times, March 5-11, 2012,
www.mmtimes.com/2012/news/617/news6171
9.html.
30 UNs Ban-ki Moon urges Burma to unite
on path to change, BBC, April 30, 2012,
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17890618.
31 Martin Petty, U.N. chief visits Myanmar to
push more reforms, Reuters, April 29, 2012,
www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/29/us-myanmarun-idUSBRE83S01X20120429.
32 Mark Mackinnon, Myanmar poised for
change as Suu Kyi set to win place in parliament, Globe and Mail, April 1, 2012, www.
theglobeandmail.com/news/world/myanmar-
About the Author

Robert Kiener is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in the London Sunday Times, The Christian Science Monitor,
The Washington Post, Readers Digest, Time Life Books, Asia Inc. and
other publications. For more than two decades he lived and
worked as an editor and correspondent in Guam, Hong Kong,
Canada and England and is now based in the United States. He
frequently travels to Asia and Europe to report on international
issues. He holds an M.A. in Asian Studies from Hong Kong University and an M.Phil. in International Relations from Cambridge
University.
348
poised-for-change-as-suu-kyi-set-to-win-placein-parliament/article2388829/.
33 A fly in the ointment, The Economist,
April 28, 2012, www.economist.com/node/
21553447.
34 Hannah Beech, Burmas armed forces day:
men in business suits, not uniforms, seize the
moment, Time, March 27, 2012, http://world.
time.com/2012/03/27/burmas-armed-forces-daymen-in-business-suits-not-uniforms-seize-themoment/.
35 Bertil Linter, Burmese democracy still a
distant dream, The Australian, May 11, 2012,
www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/burmesedemocracy-still-a-distant-dream/story-e6frg6ux1226352422447.
36 Burmas parliament emerges from the shadows, Inside Story, March 26, 2012, http://inside.
org.au/burma-parliament-emerges-from-theshadows/.
37 Dinyar Godrej, A Short History of Burma,
New Internationalist, April 18, 2008, www.new
int.org/features/2008/04/18/history/.
38 Richard Covington, Sacred and Profaned,
Smithsonian Magazine, December 2002, www.
smithsonianmag.com/people-places/sacred.html.
39 Godrej, op. cit.
40 David I. Steinberg, Burma/Myanmar: What
everyone needs to know (2010), pp. 33-34.
41 Ibid., p. 42.
42 History of Burma, Canadian Friends of
Burma, www.cfob.org/history.html.
43 Should it be Burma or Myanmar? BBC,
Sept. 26, 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/701
3943.stm.
44 Karen Percy, More Burma protesters arrested as curfew orders ignored, ABC News,
Sept. 28, 2007, www.abc.net.au/news/2007-0928/more-burma-protesters-arrested-as-curfeworders/684316.
45 Michael W. Charney, A History of Modern
Burma (2009), p. 197.
46 Steinberg, op. cit., p. 139.
47 Jake Tapper, A wary president Obama heralds progress in Burma, ABC News, Nov. 17,
2011, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/
11/a-wary-president-obama-heralds-progressin-burma/.
48 President U Thein Sein delivers inaugural
address to Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, New Light of
Myanmar, March 31, 2011, www.networkmyan
mar.org/images/stories/PDF7/theinsein.pdf.
49
Ibid.
Dissident meets leader of Myanmar, The
Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2011, www.nytimes.
com/2011/08/20/world/asia/20myanmar.html.
51 Reform in Myanmar: One year on, International Crisis Group, April 11, 2012, www.
crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-eastasia/burma-myanmar/b136-reform-in-myanmarone-year-on.pdf.
52 Ibid.
53 Q&A: Unrest in Burmas Rakhine state,
BBC, June 20, 2012, www.bbc.co.uk/news/
world-asia-18395788.
54 Francis Wade, Burma clashes could put
transition to democracy at risk, president says,
Guardian, June 12, 2012, www.guardian.co.
uk/world/2012/jun/10/burma-clashes-transitiondemocracy-risk?intcmp=239.
55 Fergal Keane, Old tensions bubble in
Burma, BBC, June 11, 2012, www.bbc.co.uk/
news/world-asia-18402678.
56 Burma unrest: UN body says 90,000 displaced by violence, BBC, June 20, 2012,
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18517412.
57 Andrew R. C. Marshall, Special Report:
Plight of Muslim minority threatens Myanmar
Spring, Reuters, June 15, 2012, www.reuters.
com/article/2012/06/15/us-myanmar-rohingyaidUSBRE85E06A20120615.
58 Wade, op. cit.
59 Stop push-backs to Myanmar: HRW, BNNews24.com, June 2012, http://bdnews24.com/
details.php?id=226791&cid=2.
60 Myanmar Rohingya refugees call for Suu
Kyis help, Agence France-Presse, June 14, 2012,
www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/297989/myan
mar-rohingya-refugees-call-for-suu-kyi-help.
61 China now No. 1 investor in Burma,
Mizzima News, Jan. 18, 2012, www.mizzima.
com/business/6436-china-now-no-1-investorin-burma.html.
62 A new Great Game? The Economist, Dec. 3,
2011, www.economist.com/node/21541071.
63 Lolita C. Baldor, U.S. looking to forge military ties with Burma, The Associated Press,
June 2, 2012, www.irrawaddy.org/archives/5660.
64 Coca-Cola returns to Burma after a 60year absence, BBC, June 14, 2012, www.bbc.
co.uk/news/business-18453401.
65 Opening soon, The Economist, March 3,
66 Rachel Vandenbrink, U.S. eases Burma
50
FOR MORE INFORMATION

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of the United States and Asia.
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Burma Campaign UK, 28 Charles Square, London NH1 6Ht U.K.; +44 20 7324
4710; www.burmacampaign.org.uk/. Raises awareness about Myanmar and promotes human rights while pressuring the international community to investigate
abuses against minorities and others.
Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1800 K St., N.W., Washington,
DC 20006; 202-887-0200; www.csis.org. An independent nonprofit organization focusing on policy-oriented studies and dialogue on domestic and international issues.
Freedom House, 1301 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20036;
202-296-5101; www.freedomhouse.org. An independent watchdog organization that
supports democratic change, monitors freedom and advocates for democracy and
human rights.
Human Rights Watch, 50 Fifth Ave., 34th Floor, New York, NY 10118; 212-290-4700;
www.hrw.org. A leading independent organization dedicated to defending and
protecting human rights.
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Pasir Panjang,
Singapore, 119614; +65 6778 0955; www.iseas.edu.sg. A regional research center
dedicated to the study of sociopolitical, security and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia.
International Crisis Group, 149 Avenue Louise, Level 24, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium;
+32 2 502 90 38; www.crisisgroup.org. An independent, nonprofit organization
committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict.
United to End Genocide, 1025 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 310, Washington,
DC 20036; 202-556-2100; www.engenocide.org. Activist organization dedicated to
ending genocide and mass atrocities worldwide, with special emphasis on Myanmar.
sanctions, Radio Free Asia, May 17, 2012, www.
rfa.org/english/news/burma/sanctions-051720
12184116.html.
67 Hannah Beech, Burmas Su Kyi dazzles
overseas but faces myriad problems back
home, Time, June 21, 2012, world.time.com/
2012/06/21/burmas-suu-kyi-dazzles-overseasbut-faces-myriad-problems-back-.
68 Aung Win, Western companies to become
Burmas top investors, Mizzima News, June 21,
2012, www.mizzima.com/business/7373-western-countries-to-become-burmas-top-investors.
html.
69 Laura Smith-Park, Suu Kyi gives Nobel
speech in Norway, 21 years later, CNN, June 16,
2012, http://articles.cnn.com/2012-06-16/world/
world_europe_norway-suu-kyi-nobel_1_oslocity-hall-nobel-committee-house-arrest?_s=PM:
EUROPE.
July 17, 2012
349
Bibliography
Selected Sources
Books
Aung-Thwin, Michael, and Maitrii Aung-Thwin, A History
of Myanmar Since Ancient Times, Reaktion Books, 2012.
Burmese academics present a comprehensive, well-researched
history of Burma over nearly 3,000 years.
Lintner, Bertil, Burmese democracy still a distant dream,

The Australian, May 11, 2012, www.asiapacificms.com/
articles/burma_democracy_distant_dream/.
A longtime observer of Myanmar offers a somewhat pessimistic view of recent reforms.
Reports and Studies

Holliday, Ian, Burma Redux: Global justice and the quest
for political reform in Myanmar, Columbia University Press,
2011.
A Hong Kong University political science professor examines Myanmars recent political awakening through the prism
of foreign interests.
Myint-U, Thant, The River of Lost Footsteps: A personal
history of Burma, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.
The grandson of former U.N. Secretary-General U Thant
tells the story of modern Burma.
Phan, Zoya, Undaunted: My struggle for freedom and
survival in Burma, Free Press, 2010.
This autobiography by a young Karen refugee now living
in the U.K. tells about her familys escape from Myanmar
and how she became a champion for Karen rights.
Steinberg, David I., Burma/Myanmar: What everyone
needs to know, Oxford University Press, 2010.
One of the worlds most respected authorities on Myanmar
explains the nations current situation in detail, while providing
an informative survey of the nations history and culture.
Articles
The road up from Mandalay, The Economist, April 21,
Economic development faces an uphill challenge in regions
long dominated by military interests.
A Short History of Burma, New Internationalist, April
18, 2008, www.newint.org/features/2008/04/18/history/.
The author provides a concise overview of Myanmars history.
Beech, Hannah, Will ethnic violence kill Burmas fragile
reforms,Time, June 11, 2012, http://world.time.com/2012/
06/11/will-ethnic-violence-kill-burmas-fragile-reforms/.
Recent minority clashes may affect future reforms in Myanmar.
Farrelly, Nicholas, Burma and the road to normality,
Inside Story, March 8, 2012, http://inside.org.au/burmaand-the-road-to-normality/.
An Australian academic who recently visited Myanmar offers
an in-depth look at recent reforms and their implications for
the future.
350
Burma: Country Summary, Human Rights Watch, January 2012, www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/

burma_2012.pdf.pdf.
The human-rights organization provides a comprehensive,
investigative overview of recent human-rights developments
in Myanmar.
Burmas political prisoners and U.S. sanctions, Congressional Research Service, Feb. 13, 2012, www.fas.org/
sgp/crs/row/R42363.pdf.
This overview of Myanmars treatment of political prisoners
includes details on how many and what type of prisoners have
been released and how many are still being held.
Reform in Myanmar: One Year On, International Crisis
Group, April 11, 2012, www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/
Files/asia/south-east-asia/burma-myanmar/b136-reformin-myanmar-one-year-on.
A London-based NGO offers excellent analysis of the changes
that have taken place during President U Thein Seins first
year in office and what they may mean for Myanmars
progress toward democratic reform.
U.S. policy options toward Myanmar, Council on Foreign
Relations, May 3, 2012, www.cfr.org/burmamyanmar/uspolicy-options-toward-myanmar/p28170.
Journalists and academics discuss reforms and changes occurring in Myanmar and suggest some options for U.S. responses.
U.S. Sanctions on Burma, Congressional Research Service, Feb. 7, 2012, www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41336.pdf.
Congress research arm gives a detailed examination of the
history, purpose and possible future of U.S. sanctions on
Myanmar.
Clapp, Priscilla, and Suzanne DiMaggio, Advancing Myanmars Transition: A Way Forward for U.S. Policy, Asia
Society, Feb. 16, 2012, http://asiasociety.org/files/pdf/
120216_us_policy_myanmar_report.pdf.
A former chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Burma
(Clapp) (1999-2002) and a vice president of the Asia Society provide a wide-ranging assessment of Myanmars recent
reforms and suggests possible U.S. responses.
The Next Step:

Additional Articles from Current Periodicals
Aung San See Kyi
Myanmars Suu Kyi Sees Nothing Wrong with Burma,
The Associated Press, July 3, 2012, www.charlotteobserver.
com/2012/07/03/3359091/myanmars-suu-kyi-says-nothing.
html.
Suu Kyi ignores government objections that she call her
native country Myanmar.
China Denies Pushing Back Burmese Refugees into

Their Country, BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific, July 5, 2012,
www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/chinadenies-pushing-back-myanmar-refugees-into-their-country/
28494/.
China denies a Human Rights Watch claim that it refused
basic services to some minority Burmese refugees and forced
them to return to their home country.
De la Baume, Maia, Burmese Opposition Leader Finds

Support as Her European Tour Ends, The New York Times,
June 28, 2012.
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi received
honor and praise from Europeans while traveling to accept
her Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.
Death Sentence for Burmese Killers, ABC News, June 20,

2012, www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-20/an-death-sentencefor-buma-killers/4081720.
Two men have been sentenced to death after sparking violent clashes between ethnic groups in Rakhine, resulting in
the displacement of 90,000 people.
Hiatt, Fred, Aung San Suu Kyi and the Art of Compromise, The Washington Post, July 5, 2012, www.japan
times.co.jp/text/eo20120705a2.html.
Suu Kyi is a successful leader partially due to her willingness to compromise.
Relations with the West

Fuller, Thomas, U.N. Chief Will Ask West to Lift Myanmar
Sanctions, The New York Times, April 30, 2012.
The secretary-general of the United Nations urged Western countries to lift sanctions and aid Burma socially and economically.
Elections
Burmese Reshuffle to Oust Old Guard, The Australian,
July 5, 2012, www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/
burmese-reshuffle-to-oust-old-guard/story-e6frg6so-1226
417210054.
More moderate leaders are expected to replace hardliners
in Myanmars government.
The Real Victory in the Myanmar Election, The Christian Science Monitor, April 2, 2012, www.csmonitor.com/
Commentary/the-monitors-view/2012/0402/The-real-victoryin-the-Myanmar-election.
High levels of support across Myanmar gave Suu Kyi an
overwhelming victory in Aprils elections.
Girion, Lisa, Myanmar Election Gives Hope to Expats,
Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2012.
Many Burmese expatriates in California fear talking about
the politics of their homeland, but the recent elections have
given them new hope.
Ethnic Violence
Motlagh, Jason, In Burma, Civil War Grinds on Far from

Capital, The Washington Post, June 29, 2012.
Since the special elections in April, most Western governments have suspended sanctions on Burma.
Tandon, Shaun, US Senators Press for Oil Investment,
The Myanmar Times, July 2, 2012, www.mmtimes.com/
2012/news/633/news63324.html.
Obama nominates the first U.S. ambassador to Burma in
22 years, as the United States pushes for more foreign investment in the countrys oil and gas trade.
CITING CQ GLOBAL RESEARCHER

Sample formats for citing these reports in a bibliography
include the ones listed below. Preferred styles and formats
vary, so please check with your instructor or professor.
MLA STYLE
Flamini, Roland. Nuclear Proliferation. CQ Global Researcher 1 Apr. 2007: 1-24.
APA STYLE
Burma: UN Says Nearly 80 People Dead in Rakhine
State Violence, BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific, June 29,
2012, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-06/
29/c_123345397.htm.
Nearly 80 people died and dozens more were injured in
Burmas Rakhine state in early June, according to government estimates.
Flamini, R. (2007, April 1). Nuclear proliferation. CQ Global

Researcher, 1, 1-24.
CHICAGO STYLE
Flamini, Roland. Nuclear Proliferation. CQ Global Researcher,
April 1, 2007, 1-24.
July 17, 2012
351
Voices From Abroad:

Former Prime Minister
Thailand
has re-emerged as an active

player in international politics, while seeking more
friends and partners to minimise the Chinese influence
on its regime.
Using the carrot

Relations between ThaiSouth China Morning Post
land and Burma have never
April 2012
faded since my time. I never
used a stick to deal with
UNG AW
Burma like the superpowers did. I always used a carExiled Editor
rot to deal with it.
The Irrawaddy, Thailand
Bangkok Post, December 2011
AUNG SAN SUU KYI

Chairperson, National
League for Democracy
Burma
A free press
I want to return to Burma
to publish both English and
Burmese language newspapers
when Burma is free and
there are no restrictions on
the press. We will go back
to Burma with dignity.
We want it all
We want justice and free- Irrawaddy (Thailand)
dom, and we want pros- October 2011
perity. Not either of it, but
all of it together. And . . .
EVIN UDD
prosperity is no substitute
Foreign Minister, Australia
for democracy.
Mizzima News Agency (India)

May 2012
PAVIN
CHACHAVALPONGPUN
Southeast Asian Studies
Professor, Kyoto University
Japan
A better chance than ever

We can dare to believe
there is a better chance for
reform in Burma than there
has been for more than 20
years, possibly since the
1962 military coup. . . . Australia urges a re-commitment
of all sides to existing ceasefires, to provide space for
peaceful negotiated settlement of Burmas longstanding ethnic conflicts, with the
Burmese government working closely with U.N. and
humanitarian organisations to
meet the needs of displaced
and vulnerable populations.
Diversifying choices
It is clear that the Burmese
leaders recognise the necessity of diversifying their foreign policy choices away from
China. Such a diversification
is becoming a prominent
characteristic of Burmas strategy on interstate relations. In The Australian, October 2011
reorienting its policy, Burma
VICHAI KEMTONGKUM
Managing Director, Oriental
Unique (trading company)
Thailand
A safer place
As far as Im concerned,
Burma is safer than Thailand. Burmese investors are
reliable. I have done business in Burma for many years
and never experienced cheating by Burmese partners.
The Nation (Thailand)
September 2011
RENAUD EGRETEAU
Humanities and Social
Science Professor
University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
An ally in America
With the U.S. potentially
coming back, the Burmese
can add one more arrow to
their diplomatic bow. But only
to the extent it suits their
long-term strategy; and so far
this lies in more cordial re-
lations with Washington, and

less games with Pyongyang.
Irrawaddy (Thailand)
November 2011
SEAN TURNELL
Economics Professor
Macquarie University
Australia
The last tiger
Optimism on Burma and
its prospects has been a rare
commodity for much of the
past half-century. The country was locked away by the
autarkic policies of successive
military regimes and hemmed
in by international sanctions.
. . . This year, all that seems
to have changed. Flights to
Burma these days are bursting with prospectors of every
conceivable kind, whose only
remaining anxiety seems to
be that they may miss out on
what they dimly perceive to
be the rise of Asias last remaining tiger.
The Australian, June 2012
Politicalcartoons.com/Taylor Jones
THAKSIN SHINAWATRA

CQ Burma

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JULY 17, 2012

Myanmars New Era

PUBLISHED BY CQ PRESS, AN IMPRINT OF SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC.

MYANMARS NEW ERA

Should the West lift

SIDEBARS AND GRAPHICS

Myanmar Separates India

The Poorest Country in

The Private Anguish of

Living Standards Are

Voices from Abroad

Open for Business

Cover : AFP/Getty Images/Soe Than Win

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

For More Information

The Next Step

Citing CQ Global Researcher

July 17, 2012

MANAGING EDITOR: Kathy Koch

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Thomas J. Billitteri

tjb@cqpress.com; Thomas J. Colin

An Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc.

VICE PRESIDENT AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR,

Myanmars New Era

on March 30, 2011.

July 17, 2012

MYANMARS NEW ERA

Myanmar Sits Between China and India

reforms in Myanmar, the United States,

Diplomatic doors are also swinging

the world looks at Myanmar through

The Poorest Country in Southeast Asia

Myanmar by the Numbers

tually complete it, and many girls are

military junta threatened to kill them

July 17, 2012

MYANMARS NEW ERA

The Private Anguish of Aung San Suu Kyi

escalated in 2011 as longstanding ceasefires with ethnic armed groups broke

wife. They had two sons. She is remembered there as a dutiful

Burma by lifting economic sanctions

After visiting Myanmar, McCain said

Asia Society in New York City, does

Thirty more visa applications were refused, despite letters

Michael Aris, an Oxford academic and the husband of 1991 Nobel

the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar

End Genocide. If sanctions work, why

July 17, 2012

MYANMARS NEW ERA

* Based on purchasing power comparisons

mine the possibility of positive change

I am not against the suspension of

killed in 11 battles during the last

Foreign Direct Investment

Source: Myanmar: 2011 Article IV Consultation, International Monetary Fund, www.imf.

frastructure. Nations have the power

U.N. has struggled to get the access

July 17, 2012

MYANMARS NEW ERA

Getty Images/Gamma-Rapho/M. C. Tressin

Forces Day celebrations Army chief

journalist Bertil Lintner, a longtime

correspondent for Inside Story, an Australian current affairs journal. He is