The Secretariat, a building in Myanmar’s former capital where the independence hero Aung San was assassinated in 1947, is a powerful touchstone for the country’s history and identity. Next week, the Secretariat’s grounds are scheduled to host a night bazaar promoting ties between Myanmar and the United States, with Krispy Kreme doughnuts and other American […]
Daw Suu – an opponent who prevailed
On Saturday night a slight woman of enormous international stature let a Harvard audience in on a perk of her position: When she is asked to give a speech, the leader of Myanmar said, her staff provides her with talking points. Even better, for her lecture as the Harvard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year, Harvard […]
Myanmar is cracking down on Buddhist extremism directed at Muslims
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar is cracking down on Buddhist extremism, aiming to curb ethnic and religious tension that saw two mosques destroyed and scores of Muslim residents fleeing their villages in recent weeks. Nobel Peace Prize winner and government leader Aung San Suu Kyi has come under criticism from human rights activists and lawyers for […]
What Opening Up an Isolationist Nation to the Global Economy Does to Traffic
Three years ago, traffic may have cost Burmese 24-year-old Kyaw Kyaw Win his job. He migrated to Yangon, the commercial capital of the country now known as Myanmar, in search of worktwo years after the start of crucial economic development reforms that opened the once-hermit nation to international investment. The country of more than 51 […]
In Myanmar and Thailand, two militaries moving in opposite directions
Kevin Rafferty says as the generals in Myanmar cede power in the historic handover to civilians, Thailand’s ruling junta should remember the dangers of prolonged military rule on a nation’s economy and social fabric. Who would ever have imagined it – singing karaoke, dancing and joking. This was not some theatre vaudeville event but the […]