Category Archives: Burma/Myanmar
The Lady’s Last Act? Aung San Suu Kyi’s Influence May Be on the Wane
July 14, 2011 Washington, DC Last week, democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the disbanded National League for Democracy, traveled to Bagan amidst widespread speculation of military violence. Suu Kyi’s NLD won the previous 1990 elections, but the … Continue reading
Emerging State-Society Relations in Burma: A Chance for Reform?
June 27, 2011 Washington, DC In November of 2010 Burma’s long-ruling military junta held the first multiparty elections in two decades. The previous elections in 1990 witnessed a roughly two-thirds vote in favor of the National League for Democracy (NLD), … Continue reading
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Next Move: Are National Reconciliation and a Peaceful Revolution Possible in Burma?
Brookline, MA Since being freed from two decades of house arrest two weeks ago, Burma’s dissident number one, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has been busily touring Yangon and interviewing with foreign media, diplomats, local citizens, and political leaders. She … Continue reading
Is Boycotting Burma’s November Elections Wise?
Seattle, WA While some in the opposition bloc within Burma and the exile community believe boycotting the upcoming Elections (November 7) to be a moral imperative, no one seems to rationalize why they urge Burma’s people to withhold their vote. … Continue reading
A Trip to North Thailand – Shan Burma Border
Brookline, MA It was one of my last weekends in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and I was all set to go to a Handsome Furs concert on Saturday night. It was shaping up to be a good weekend. Then a regional … Continue reading
Herodotus’ Lesson for a Cruel Regime
Chiang Mai, THAILAND BOOK ONE of Herodotus’ Histories: Croesus, king of the Lydians, has a “craving to extend his territories.” He has just asked the oracle at Delphi what the outcome of an attack against Cyrus and the Persian Empire … Continue reading
Buffalo Stories: How He Lost His Upper Teeth
Bangkok, THAILAND 15 August, 2010 Have you ever seen how the water buffalo (Thai, kwai; Vietnamese, con trâu) has no upper teeth? They only have a row of bottom teeth but lack a matching set on the top. Well, I’m … Continue reading
