The reaction was swift. On Jan. 13 (an auspicious Friday the 13th, it turned out), Burma released 651 prisoners, among them hundreds of democracy activists, ethnic leaders, senior monks and even a former Prime Minister who had …
Aung San Suu Kyi
Burma’s Mass Prisoner Release: Has the Regime Truly Turned a Corner?
One by one, they emerged. On Jan. 13, 651 inmates were granted amnesty in Burma, many of them prominent political prisoners, the latest reform in a country whose leaders have surprised even skeptics with their rapid pace of …
A Cease-Fire in Burma: Is One of the World’s Oldest Insurgencies About to End?
One of the world’s longest civil conflicts may finally be over. On Jan. 12, a “peace delegation” from the quasi-civilian government of Burma signed a cease-fire agreement with ethnic Karen rebels who have been waging battle …
Chasing the Dragon: In Burma, All Conversations Seem to Lead to China
I went to Burma to see whether the reforms I’d heard about were truly transforming one of the most isolated nations on earth. Yet what many of my Burmese friends wanted to talk instead about was my place of residence: …
Clinton in Burma: As Ties with U.S. Strengthen, Will the Country’s Ethnic Minorities Be Forgotten?
Nestled next to a placid lake in Burma’s largest city, Rangoon, the villa of democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi is a pleasant spot—although no place can be so comfortable as to merit spending much of two decades under house arrest there. In 2009, before the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was released from villa detention by the ruling …
The Barefoot Diplomat: Hillary Clinton Begins Landmark Visit to Burma
One of the most surreal experiences in Burma is to leaf through the New Light of Myanmar. The English-language newspaper, which refers to the country by its official name, is among the most retrograde publications in the world. With tidbits like “True patriotism: It is very important for every one of the nation regardless of the …
The Road to Naypyidaw: What Hillary Clinton Will See in Burma
As U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton makes her historic visit to Burma from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, she will be touring two vastly different cities. Clinton, the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit the isolated nation in more than half a century, first stops in Naypyidaw, the country’s capital. The vast, surreal city, which …
For the First Time in More Than 50 Years, a U.S. Secretary of State Is Set to Visit Burma
This year, the leaders of Burma, once one of the most hermetic countries on earth, have unleashed a charm campaign on the world. The efforts, ranging from diplomatic globe-trotting to a raft of economic and political reforms designed to impress foreign governments, are now bearing fruit. On Nov. 18, U.S. President Barack Obama …
Burma Announces a Mass Prisoner Amnesty— Is Real Reform Next?
Squeezed between booming India and equally booming China, Burma has long felt like a time capsule of repressive rule, economic mismanagement and military dominance. But is change finally coming to this strategic crossroads? On Oct. 11, in a state T.V. announcement emblazoned with a “breaking news” banner, the country’s …
In a Rare Reversal, Burma’s Government Listens to Its People and Suspends a Dam
The Irrawaddy River is the lifeblood of Burma. Its waters spring from the Myitsone confluence of two rivers in the country’s northern Kachin state, a largely Christian ethnic minority territory whose rebel militia has over the decades battled the Burmese military. A few years ago when Burma’s ruling junta agreed to a $3.6 …
Love Actually: Labour Hearts Hugh Grant But Feels Little Passion For Its Own Leader
It’s a problem unlikely to trouble U.S. politicians any time soon: there’s so much common ground between Britain’s three largest political parties that they struggle to define themselves against their rivals. Yes, their histories and traditional values are quite different. But since Tony Blair led Labour to the center and …
Burma: Could a Small, Peaceful Protest Signal Real Reform?
Four years ago, as columns of burgundy-robed monks marched peacefully through Burma’s commercial capital Rangoon, security forces opened fire, slaughtering at least 31 people, arresting thousands more and extinguishing hopes that the ruling junta was receptive to political reform. On September 26, dozens of Burmese again gathered …
Reflecting on 9/11, Britain’s Former Spy Chief Criticizes Iraq War and Proposes Talks with Al Qaeda
“We are not women; we will keep fighting,” vowed Libya’s elusive despot Muammar Gaddafi in a message broadcast on Syrian TV on Sept. 1. A lecture delivered in London the same evening, for broadcast on Sept. 6 as part of the BBC’s 2011 Reith Lecture series Securing Freedom, illuminated the unintended kernel of truth to the Colonel’s …