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	<title>NL-Aid &#187; Aung San Suu Kyi</title>
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	<link>http://www.nl-aid.org</link>
	<description>NL-Aid is a &#039;blog and news agency&#039; about foreign aid, development cooperation, international politics in Africa, Asia and Latin America</description>
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		<title>From icon to politician. Aung San Suu Kyi&#8217;s and the future of Burma</title>
		<link>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/from-icon-to-politician-aung-san-suu-kyis-and-the-future-of-burma/</link>
		<comments>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/from-icon-to-politician-aung-san-suu-kyis-and-the-future-of-burma/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:00:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[democratization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Northern America]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South-east Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung San Suu Kyi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burmese]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Havel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mandela]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[McConnell Center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nobel Peace Prize]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[University of Louisville]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nl-aid.org/?p=13496</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On September 24th Burmese pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi visited the University of Louisville as a guest of the McConnell Center. I had the enormous honor and privilege both to meet her in person and to sit in on a private question and answer session she had with our [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_17_November_2011.jpg" ><img class="alignleft" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_17_November_2011.jpg/220px-Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_17_November_2011.jpg" alt="" width="220" height="285" /></a>On September 24<sup>th</sup> Burmese pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi visited the University of Louisville as a guest of the McConnell Center. I had the enormous honor and privilege both to meet her in person and to sit in on a private question and answer session she had with our McConnell Scholars after her public talk. When we were introduced I informed her that I held the Endowed Chair in Asian Democracy named in her honor. She asked with a note of surprise in her voice “there is a Chair in Asian Democracy?” When I said there indeed was she followed up by saying with a smile “well I could learn something from you then”. Flattered I countered with “I was hoping to learn from you”.</div>
<p><span id="more-13496"></span></p>
<div>Many adjectives have been used to describe this small, petite woman: inspiring, serene, tranquil. Senator McConnell in his introductory comments stated that her “understated and luminous heroism” made her “the most unlikely of revolutionaries”. That yesterday’s event happened at all is testimony to the remarkable pace of reform in Burma over the past two years. After spending 15 of the past 20 years under house arrest Suu Kyi was released in November 2010 and was subsequently elected to parliament in by-elections this April where she became the official leader of the opposition.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Suu Kyi spoke to about 500 people in the University of Louisville’s Comstock Hall where she proceeded to take questions from the audience including from members of the city’s Burmese refugee community. Facing criticism from some members of pro-democracy advocacy groups for not speaking out against the regime, particularly in light of recent ethnic violence in the West of the country and ongoing conflict in the north with Kachin rebels, she warned that no progress was irreversible but added that she had a cautious optimism about the future. She also stated on several occasions that she believed Burma was a country of many peoples, and that she would work to ensure fair citizenship laws that met international norms.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>She directly addressed the issue of sanctions stating categorically that they should be lifted since “I think it is time that we of our country start carrying on the process of democratization. Sanctions have been a great help to us…but I know that there are still human rights violations in Burma… In the end, it’s we who live in the country who must make sure that these violations come to an end.”</div>
<div> </div>
<div>In the private session with McConnell Students Suu Kyi revealed showed her sense of humor. One student, referring to comparisons made in Senator McConnell’s speech in which he compared Suu Kyi to Ghandi and Martin Luther King, asked her which of the two she felt she more like. She replied with a smile on her face that she didn’t think of herself as a symbol and that besides she didn’t compare herself with either since “they were men”.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>While Burma is undergoing a transition from direct military rule Suu Kyi is also undergoing a transition herself. For so long the face of struggle against brutal repression, a symbol of the resistance one person can mount against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Suu Kyi must now make the transition to a political leader. Unlike her previous role this will be one in which she will have to make messy compromises. It will be one in which she will strike deals that some will find unpalatable. It will be a role in which she will face critics both at home and abroad who will feel she has either gone too far or not far enough, who will critique her for making concessions, and attack her for betraying <em>their</em> principals. This new role is one that she has had little experience in, and while she will surround herself with allies and advisors who can provide wise counsel, ultimately because of who she is and what she represents she will bear the burden and responsibility for the decisions made. Few transitions from authoritarianism are smooth. Few survive without cutting deals with the old regime, whether by granting amnesties to perpetrators of human rights violations, or by forgoing retribution in favor of restorative justice.  Others have made the same journey, Mandela in South Africa, Havel in Czechoslovakia, and their successes and failures provide important lessons from which Suu Kyi can draw. Perhaps those who fear the consequences of ‘The Lady’ getting her hands ‘dirty’ should take heed from this Burmese proverb, “a genuine ruby won’t sink or disappear in the mud”. From my brief moment with this remarkable woman, I believe she is a genuine ‘ruby’.</div>
<p><strong><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott.jpg" ><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2361 alignleft" title="Dr Jason Abbott" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>AUTHOR</strong>: Dr. Jason Abbott<br />
<strong>URL</strong>: <a target="_blank" href="http://profjabbott.blogspot.com" >http://profjabbott.blogspot.com</a><br />
<strong>E-MAIL</strong>: jason.abbott [at] louisville.edu</p>
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		<title>Aung San Suu Kyi&#8217;s U.S visit: A Personal View</title>
		<link>http://www.nl-aid.org/discovery/opinion/aung-san-suu-kyis-u-s-visit-a-personal-view/</link>
		<comments>http://www.nl-aid.org/discovery/opinion/aung-san-suu-kyis-u-s-visit-a-personal-view/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:00:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South-east Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung San Suu Kyi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nobel Peace Prize]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SOAS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nl-aid.org/?p=13416</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I first became aware of the brutal nature of the regime in Burma and the story of Aung San Suu Kyi during the mid 1990s. Suu Kyi had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and five years later the award-winning journalist and filmmaker John Pilger released the film Inside Burma: Land of Fear [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_17_November_2011.jpg" ><img class="alignleft" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_17_November_2011.jpg/220px-Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_17_November_2011.jpg" alt="" width="220" height="285" /></a>I first became aware of the brutal nature of the regime in Burma and the story of Aung San Suu Kyi during the mid 1990s. Suu Kyi had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and five years later the award-winning journalist and filmmaker John Pilger released the film Inside Burma: Land of Fear that documented in particular the country’s use of slave labor. At that time I was in the process of completing my doctoral dissertation on economic development in Southeast Asia and, while I was both concerned and interested in the situation in Burma, it was largely in ways peripheral to my studies, Suu Kyi’s face an image on a T-shirt and the subject of a U2 song (“Walk On”).</p>
<p>My interest in democratization came when, in the course of my continuing research in Southeast Asia, the region was hit by the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. In the maelstrom that followed, mass demonstrations both forced the resignation of General Suharto after 31 years in Indonesia, and provoked a political stand-off in Malaysia between the country’s long-serving Prime Minister Mahathir and his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim. Watching events unfold, my work slowly moved away from questions of economic management to analyze and explain why reform succeeded in one country but not in another.<br />
<span id="more-13416"></span><br />
Fast forward eight years. I had moved to the School of Oriental and African Studies where Suu Kyi herself had been studying for a PhD when she returned to Burma during the student uprising in 1988 that would see her assume the mantle of democracy activist. Within the space of the 12 months I was at SOAS, Southeast Asia was catapulted into the global media spotlight first by the coup in Thailand and then by the uprising in Burma led by the country’s Buddhist monks. Both events brought with them numerous opportunities for comment both on the TV news as well as radio for which I was lucky to be in the proverbial right place at the right time. By now, though my own work was firmly focused on questions of democratic transition and while I continued to primarily specialize on Malaysia, the media work I had done on Thailand and Burma meant that I was more cognizant of the historical backgrounds of both those countries. I had also become personally inspired by Aung San Suu Kyi’s story having read her Letters from Burma and Freedom from Fear as well as several of the biographies that have been written.</p>
<p>Less than a year after moving to the SOAS, I saw a job listing in The Chronicle of Higher Education for the Aung San Suu Kyi Endowed Chair in Asian Democracy at the University of Louisville and decided to apply for the post. The rest as they say is history. I can honestly say that at no point in my own personal journey did I ever expect that one day I would have the opportunity to meet ‘The Lady’ (as she is affectionately known in Burma) nor that Burma would have begun the dramatic changes we have seen in the past year and a half. It is rare, as an academic that in the cloistered halls of university campuses, that you actually witness the events and get to meet directly the people about whom you derive causal explanations for change. That I will is both an honor and a privilege.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott.jpg" ><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2361 alignleft" title="Dr Jason Abbott" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>AUTHOR</strong>: Dr. Jason Abbott<br />
<strong>URL</strong>: <a target="_blank" href="http://profjabbott.blogspot.com" >http://profjabbott.blogspot.com</a><br />
<strong>E-MAIL</strong>: jason.abbott [at] louisville.edu</p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Aung San Suu Kyi&#8217;s Speech at Oxford University</title>
		<link>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/aung-san-suu-kyis-speech-at-oxford-university/</link>
		<comments>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/aung-san-suu-kyis-speech-at-oxford-university/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Jul 2012 07:00:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[democratization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South-east Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung San Suu Kyi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oxford]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nl-aid.org/?p=12515</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Between 2 July &#8211; 18 July, NL-Aid is enjoying a summer recess. From 19th July, you can read articles of our authors again. Untill that time, we have selected Youtube videos in which development thinkers are centered. In this episode: Aung San Suu Kyi. AUTHOR: Hans Sluijter URL: www.NL-Aid.org E-MAIL: info [at] www.NL-Aid.org]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><object style="height: 260px; width: 426px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lSrwzKuPeu4?version=3&#038;feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lSrwzKuPeu4?version=3&#038;feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="426" height="260"></object></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_gives_speech.jpg" title="Aung San Suu Kyi, 2011" ><img class="alignleft" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_gives_speech.jpg/264px-Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_gives_speech.jpg" alt="Aung San Suu Kyi, 2011" width="131" height="179" /></a>Between 2 July &#8211; 18 July, NL-Aid is enjoying a summer recess. From 19th July, you can read articles of our authors again. Untill that time, we have selected Youtube videos in which development thinkers are centered. In this episode: <span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>Aung San Suu Kyi.</strong></span><br />
<span id="more-12515"></span><br />
<a href="/?attachment_id=1192"  rel="attachment wp-att-1192"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1192" title="Hans Sluijter" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Hans-Sluijter-147x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><strong>AUTHOR</strong>: Hans Sluijter<br />
<strong>URL</strong>: <a href="/" >www.NL-Aid.org</a><br />
<strong>E-MAIL</strong>: info [at] www.NL-Aid.org</p>
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		<title>US nominates first ambassador to Burma in 22 years</title>
		<link>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/us-nominates-first-ambassador-to-burma-in-22-years/</link>
		<comments>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/us-nominates-first-ambassador-to-burma-in-22-years/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 May 2012 10:00:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[foreign policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South-east Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ambassador]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung San Suu Kyi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Derek Mitchell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inaugural]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[International Labor Organization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nobel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[restrictions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sanctions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nl-aid.org/?p=11635</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I don’t know if he suspected that he’d be promoted back in January when he gave the Center for Asian Democracy’s inaugural annual lecture, but on May 17th Derek Mitchell, the Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma, was nominated by President Obama to be the first US ambassador to the country in 22 years. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 309px"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IdLupqNgLvU/T71FMzbD3BI/AAAAAAAAAUc/1TC5P6UnU5I/s320/mitchell_Suu+Kyi.jpg" alt="" width="299" height="320" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Derek Mitchell meeting Aung San Suu Kyi</p></div>
<p>I don’t know if he suspected that he’d be promoted back in January when he gave the Center for Asian Democracy’s inaugural annual lecture, but on May 17th Derek Mitchell, the Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma, was nominated by President Obama to be the first US ambassador to the country in 22 years. The decision by the Obama administration to appoint a new ambassador comes as no surprise but it is more evidence of the dramatic changes that have taken place in Burma over the past 18 months. It also represents the latest in a series of measures by the US government to reward that progress and strengthen the hand of reformers in the Burmese government.<br />
<span id="more-11635"></span><br />
<img class="alignleft" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wro8la4GBsY/T71GEYavGGI/AAAAAAAAAUk/ALytsjCXZKE/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-05-23+at+4.17.54+PM.png" alt="" width="318" height="291" />For Mitchell, assuming the nomination is accepted (which is likely given the bipartisan support for his nomination to the position of Special representative), the appointment will represent the culmination of a personal journey. Early in his career Mitchell expressed a profound interest and goal in helping to promote democratization in Burma. In 1996 he produced a testimonial video on Aung San Suu Kyi for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs when she was awarded the Harriman Democracy Award, and in 2007 co-authored an influential article in the journal Foreign Affairs with Michael Green that called for a new policy towards the country.</p>
<p>Mitchell’s appointment comes as European countries have agreed to a 12-month suspension of economic and financial sanctions on the country, and amidst increased pressure within the US to ease trade restrictions. It also comes on the eve of Suu Kyi’s first trip outside the country since she returned from England at the height of the protest movement for democracy in 1988. The Burmese opposition leader is due to collect the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded in 1991 in a few weeks time and then travel to Switzerland and Britain where she will address the International Labor Organization and British parliament respectively.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott.jpg" ><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2361 alignleft" title="Dr Jason Abbott" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>AUTHOR</strong>: Dr. Jason Abbott<br />
<strong>URL</strong>: <a target="_blank" href="http://profjabbott.blogspot.com" >http://profjabbott.blogspot.com</a><br />
<strong>E-MAIL</strong>: jason.abbott [at] louisville.edu</p>
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		<title>Rewarding Progress: Time for a suspension of sanctions on Burma?</title>
		<link>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/rewarding-progress-time-for-a-suspension-of-sanctions-on-burma/</link>
		<comments>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/rewarding-progress-time-for-a-suspension-of-sanctions-on-burma/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Apr 2012 08:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[foreign policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South-east Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung San Suu Kyi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Cameron]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Economist]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nl-aid.org/?p=11060</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today marked another landmark in Burma’s recent history. The visit by British Prime Minister David Cameron is both the first visit by a western leader to Burma in decades and the first ever visit by a British Prime Minister to the country since its independence in 1948. The visit is also significant because Britain has [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a target="_blank" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wo5Z-7O94z0/T4ge_k8F5_I/AAAAAAAAAS8/Je1g1b3Suec/s1600/david-cameron-suu+kyi.jpg" ><img class="alignleft" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wo5Z-7O94z0/T4ge_k8F5_I/AAAAAAAAAS8/Je1g1b3Suec/s400/david-cameron-suu+kyi.jpg" alt="" width="203" height="127" border="0" /></a>Today marked another landmark in Burma’s recent history. The visit by British Prime Minister David Cameron is both the first visit by a western leader to Burma in decades and the first ever visit by a British Prime Minister to the country since its independence in 1948. The visit is also significant because Britain has been among the most hawkish of countries in the European Union on sanctions. Indeed in his historic press conference with Aung San Suu Kyi Cameron urged the European union to suspend its current sanctions at the next meeting of its foreign affairs council on, all goods except the arms embargo. With countries such as Germany always less enthusiastic about such sanctions in the first place it now appears likely that the suspension will take place sometime after April 23rd.<br />
<span id="more-11060"></span><br />
Within Britain pro-human rights pressure groups on Burma have been at best lukewarm and at worst deeply skeptical about the current reform program launched by the military after elections in 2010. Such groups vehemently argue that it is <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mizzima.com/edop/commentary/6857-uk-must-not-abandon-burmas-political-prisoners.html" >too early</a> for Cameron too make such concessions highlighting continuing military action against the country’s ethnic minorities and the fact that hundreds of political prisoners remain in Burma’s jails. Heeding such a call for no compromises with the regime however is extremely risky in itself.</p>
<p>Exact details of what is taking place within the upper echelons of Burma’s military and political elite are hard to determine given the nature of the regime and its decades of isolation from the international community. However, several recent reports, including one in the influential periodical <a target="_blank" href="http://www.economist.com/node/21552232" >The Economist</a>, pointed to deep divisions between those advocating reform and hardliners. The surprising gambit to allow Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy to contest recent by-elections seems to have been made by convincing a third group, call them the fence-sitters, that such a move would be rewarded by the West lifting some crucial economic sanctions. There is a real danger however that the gambit may backfire. The sheer scale of the victory for the NLD and Suu Kyi while not immediately threatening the hold on power the military enjoys nevertheless suggests that they would be swept from power if the reform program culminated in free elections in 2015. Consequently Suu Kyi’s victory may have significantly undermined the position of President Thein Sein. In this light the West needs to reward the incredible progress that has been made in Burma in the past 18 months by offering enough prizes to shore up the reformers. Indeed Cameron himself alluded to this in his press conference stating,</p>
<p>“I met with President Thien Sein today and there are prospects for change in Burma and I think it is right for the rest of the world to respond to those changes… Of course we must respond with care, we must always be skeptical and questioning because we want to know those changes are irreversible, but as we have discussed, I think it is right to suspend the sanctions that there are against Burma…I do think it is important to send a signal that we want to help see the changes that can bring the growth of freedom of human rights and democracy in your country.&#8221;</p>
<p>The goal of both the Cameron and Obama administrations should be to work to bring together reformers and softliners in the government with moderates in the opposition to encourage a gradual negotiated transition to democracy. Such a task will be fraught with challenges, compromises, difficulties and problems but the only realistic alternative to it is yet another brutal crackdown the people of Burma cannot afford.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott.jpg" ><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2361 alignleft" title="Dr Jason Abbott" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>AUTHOR</strong>: Dr. Jason Abbott<br />
<strong>URL</strong>: <a target="_blank" href="http://profjabbott.blogspot.com" >http://profjabbott.blogspot.com</a><br />
<strong>E-MAIL</strong>: jason.abbott [at] louisville.edu</p>
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		<title>Clinton’s Visit to Burma: A Historic Occasion?</title>
		<link>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/clinton%e2%80%99s-visit-to-burma-a-historic-occasion/</link>
		<comments>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/clinton%e2%80%99s-visit-to-burma-a-historic-occasion/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Dec 2011 08:02:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[democratization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[foreign policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South-east Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ASEAN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung San Suu Kyi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clinton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[democracy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[diplomatic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[engagement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hillary Clinton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[liberalization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Myanmar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rangoon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sanctions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thein Sein]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[visit]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nl-aid.org/?p=8954</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Whatever you might think, however skeptical you might be, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Burma this week is a historic moment. The last Secretary of State to visit Burma was John Foster Dulles in 1955, just seven years before the military coup that would usher in Burma’s disastrous experiment with socialism under General [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 330px"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XnBr_xsd0FA/TthE5IiNeuI/AAAAAAAAANk/SCvv-0EtFx8/s320/clinton.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="170" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Sec of State Clinton meets Aung San Suu Kyi</p></div>
<p>Whatever you might think, however skeptical you might be, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Burma this week is a historic moment. The last Secretary of State to visit Burma was John Foster Dulles in 1955, just seven years before the military coup that would usher in Burma’s disastrous experiment with socialism under General Ne Win. 56 years later and Burma remains firmly under the grip of the country’s military, the Tatmadaw. Nevertheless since elections last year there have been discernible signs of political liberalization. The country has a civilian government for the first time in over 20 years (albeit headed by a former Lieutenant-General), its most famous political prisoner Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was released shortly after, and what many expected to be a largely rubber-stamp legislature has passed a number of bills (e.g. the Peaceful Gathering and Procession Bill) that on paper appears at least to be enshrining certain civil liberties in the law. Moreover Burma’s neighbors in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) have rewarded the country’s new leadership by agreeing to grant the once hermit-like country the chair of the regional organization for the first time in 2014.<br />
<span id="more-8954"></span><br />
Clinton announced that the US welcomes and supports the liberalization the new government has begun saying “the United States is prepared to walk the path of reform with you if you keep moving in the right direction&#8221;. Furthermore she hinted that the US may upgrade its diplomatic presence to full ambassadorial level for the first time since the brutal crackdown by the military after it refused to accept election results in 1990 that should have given power to Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. In addition Clinton suggested that the US will support additional aid to a country in which it is estimated that 90 per cent of the population live below the poverty line.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 330px"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TyY95a6cekM/TthFRBvSeMI/AAAAAAAAANs/EuAx5ZTT1YI/s320/clinton2.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="233" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Sec of State Clinton meets President of Burma Thein Sein</p></div>
<p>Of course all this is contingent on further progress by the regime towards greater democratization and many Burmese exiles and civil rights groups rightly highlight the fact that while Thein Sein has embarked on a charm offensive to end Burma’s economic and political isolation it has stepped up attacks on the country’s ethnic minorities. In June of this year the military broke a 17-year old ceasefire agreement with the Kachin Independence Army causing an estimated 50,000 people to flee their homes to escape acts of violence, rape and arson. In addition they point to the fact that while some high profile political prisoners have been freed more than 1000 remain behind bars. As Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, put it: &#8220;[t]here has been a lot of talk about change but little concrete change.&#8221; Still advocates of engagement believed that such a high-profile visit will be seen by Burma’s leadership as a reward for the limited progress it has made and in turn may prompt further concessions as both sides become more confident and optimistic about their relationship. Despite my skepticism and cynicism the sight of Clinton and Aung San Suu Kyi meeting face-to-face in Burma is certainly something that would have been unimaginable as little as six months ago let alone when she was appointed to her post in 2009.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott.jpg" ><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2361 alignleft" title="Dr Jason Abbott" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>AUTHOR</strong>: Dr. Jason Abbott<br />
<strong>URL</strong>: <a target="_blank" href="http://profjabbott.blogspot.com" >http://profjabbott.blogspot.com</a><br />
<strong>E-MAIL</strong>: jason.abbott [at] louisville.edu</p>
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		<title>Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove: Burma’s ethnic cleansing continues</title>
		<link>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/iron-fist-in-a-velvet-glove-burma%e2%80%99s-ethnic-cleansing-continues/</link>
		<comments>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/iron-fist-in-a-velvet-glove-burma%e2%80%99s-ethnic-cleansing-continues/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:00:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[minorities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South-east Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[war & conflicts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung San]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung San Suu Kyi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bamar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burmese regime]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ethnic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geneva Protocol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kachin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Karen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KIA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KIA fighters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marty Natalegawa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[murder]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nobel Peace Prize]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Panglong Agreement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rape]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Tatmadaw]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nl-aid.org/?p=8370</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Much has been made of late of the ‘concessions’ by the Burmese regime to dialogue and possible political liberalization that began with the release from house arrest of opposition figure, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi. Indeed while such moves should be applauded and welcomed one cannot help but wonder if they [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 330px"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-51V7cIUF3ek/TrL7YzGI7zI/AAAAAAAAAMY/fR2jVpjt3_4/s320/A-Karen-National-Army-sol-002.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="192" /><p class="wp-caption-text">KIA fighters in Burma</p></div>
<p>Much has been made of late of the ‘concessions’ by the Burmese regime to dialogue and possible political liberalization that began with the release from house arrest of opposition figure, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi. Indeed while such moves should be applauded and welcomed one cannot help but wonder if they are little more than a cynical public relations exercise by the country’s military leadership to curry international support for an easing of sanctions against the regime.<br />
<span id="more-8370"></span><br />
The strongest evidence that the new ‘civilian’ (sic) government of President Thein Sein is little more than an iron fist in a velvet glove comes from the continuing offensives by the Burmese military against ethnic minorities such as the Kachin and Karen. Indeed Derek Mitchell the new US special envoy for Burma confirmed on October 17th that there were credible reports of human rights abuses by the military against women and children including murder and rape. More recently allegations have been made that the Burmese Army, the Tatmadaw, has used mortar rounds that have contained poisonous gas in attacks on fighters of the Kachin Independence Army in three war zones: Ga Ra Yang village, Shwe Nyaung Pyin village and Waingmaw Township. On October 30th the Kachin News Group stated that soldiers from the KIA reported that black smoke billowing from areas where the mortar shells landed had left victims dizzy, struggling to breathe and vomiting for several hours. While there is no independent verification of the alleged use of chemical weapons if true such attacks would be in violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol that prohibited the use of chemical and biological weapons.</p>
<p>These attacks are only the latest in an intensification of hostilities against ethnic groups that have occurred in recent months despite calls by President Thein Sein for national reconciliation. Criticism has also come from Burma’s neighbors. On October 29th Indonesia’s foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa urged Burma’s leaders to make concrete steps towards reconciliation while earlier this year in July Aung San Suu Kyi issued an open letter to the President in which she called for an urgent ceasefire and offered to act as a mediator. Besides the KIA the Burmese Army continues to be engaged in offensives against other armed ethnic groups including the Karen National Union and the Shan State Army.</p>
<p>While the Burman (Bamar) constitute about two-thirds of the country’s population Burma nevertheless is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world with 135 distinct official ethnic groups recognized by the government itself. Many of the country’s most important ethnic minorities (the Kachin, Karen, Shan etc) are located on the country’s mountainous borders and have been in conflict with the central authorities for over four decades. While full autonomy for the Frontier Areas, including a Kachin State, was agreed in the historic Panglong Agreement signed in February 1947 by Aung San Suu Kyi’s father, Aung San, the agreement was effectively scuttled following his assassination and the creation of irregular militia under the command of Ne Win who would later overthrow the democratic government of Burma in 1962. Following the establishment of his own personalized Burmese Road to Socialism Ne Win launched a brutal policy against ethnic and political rebels known as the ‘Four Cuts’. The policy was designed to cut the four main links of food, funds, intelligence, and recruits between insurgents, their families and local villagers and largely consisted of a policy of forced relocation and ethnic cleansing. Opponents of the regime internally and externally fear that the military is using the latest concessions to political opponents to deflect attention from the renewed offensives. Whether this is the case or not, what the incidents reveal is that gross abuses of human rights continue in Burma on an almost daily basis and that an investigation of the latest claims of the use of chemical weapons is urgently needed.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott.jpg" ><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2361 alignleft" title="Dr Jason Abbott" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>AUTHOR</strong>: Dr. Jason Abbott<br />
<strong>URL</strong>: <a target="_blank" href="http://profjabbott.blogspot.com" >http://profjabbott.blogspot.com</a><br />
<strong>E-MAIL</strong>: jason.abbott [at] louisville.edu</p>
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		<title>India-Myanmar relationship reaching a new level</title>
		<link>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-asia/india-myanmar-relationship-reaching-a-new-level/</link>
		<comments>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-asia/india-myanmar-relationship-reaching-a-new-level/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2011 07:00:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[foreign policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South-east Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ASEAN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung San Suu Kyi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ESSAR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Myanmar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thein Sein]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nl-aid.org/?p=7967</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[India-Myanmar relationship is entering a new era with the visit of Myanmar’s President Thein Sein to New Delhi. The three day visit from Oct 12-15, 2011 of the Myanmar president takes place in a context of some crucial development in the neighboring country that may have an impact on the bilateral relationship. Myanmar is no [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 135px"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Flag_of_Myanmar.svg/125px-Flag_of_Myanmar.svg.png" alt="" width="125" height="83" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Flag Republic of the Union of Myanmar</p></div>
<p>India-Myanmar relationship is entering a new era with the visit of Myanmar’s President Thein Sein to New Delhi. The three day visit from Oct 12-15, 2011 of the Myanmar president takes place in a context of some crucial development in the neighboring country that may have an impact on the bilateral relationship. Myanmar is no longer a pure military regime. With the elections in November 2010, a &#8216;civilian&#8217; government in place. An elected parliament and regional assemblies are functioning under the new constitution.<br />
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Even though the modicum of such democracy may be unconvincing but the fact remains the direction of change is apparent. The new president has launched a bold programme of political and economic reforms this March end, and this has set the ball rolling for the country’s tryst with democracy.</p>
<p>The movement for change has gathered momentum in the past three months. The reconciliation effort with the icon of democracy Aung San Suu Kyi, is a positive development.</p>
<p>According to her, President Thein Sein &#8220;wants to achieve positive change and Myanmar is in a situation where changes are likely to take place. This is sharp contrast to her previous statement when she called 2010 elections &#8220;a mishap.&#8221;</p>
<p>The other significant development that is taking place under the new government is that dialogue has replaced armed conflict between the ethnic minorities and the Myanmar Army.</p>
<p>This again is positive sign because long years of armed conflict has not bore any result and the only way of reconciliation is through dialogue and that what is happening now.</p>
<p>Myanmar’s relations with the West, particularly the US and the EU, are improving. Some of the key demands of the western countries are being negotiated and its likely that some of them may be accepted by the government. The release of political prisoners is one such move in this direction.</p>
<p>The other major development is Myanmar&#8217;s decision to suspend the construction of the Myistone dam in the northern Kachin state, a project meant to supply electricity to China which was being executed by a Chinese corporation with massive Chinese investment, has caused substantial tensions.</p>
<p>So, one ne has to see in this backdrop the visit of Myanmar President U Thein Sein&#8217;s goodwill visit to India to promote bilateral relations and cooperation with the neighbor countries. This is the first visit of the incumbent President to India, after assuming presidency on March 30, 2011.</p>
<p>Relations between India and Myanmar have been growing in the past few years. Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam visited Myanmar in 2006 and then two years later; Vice-President M.Hamid Ansari visited that country in 2009.</p>
<p>Myanmar&#8217;s Vice Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), Vice Senior-General Maung Aye visited India in 2008 and this was followed by the visit of the senior leader and Chairman of the SPDC General Than Shwe visit to India in 2010.</p>
<p>There is little doubt that the visit of President Thein Sein is significantly different from the visit of his predecessor, Senior General Than Shwe, visited India last year.</p>
<p>India -Myanmar bilateral trade reached $1.071 billion in 2010-11 and India stood as Myanmar&#8217;s fourth largest trading partner after Thailand, Singapore and China.</p>
<p>India’s export to Myanmar is valued to be $194.92 million, while import is amounted to $876.91 million.</p>
<p>Agricultural produce and forestry products are leading in imports to India. India stands as a major buyer of Myanmar&#8217;s beans, taking up 70 percent of the latter&#8217;s exporting agricultural produce. Medicines and pharmaceutical products are topping India’s export to Myanmar.</p>
<p>India&#8217;s contracted investment in Myanmar amounted to 189 million dollars as of March 2011 of which 137 million were drawn into the oil and gas sector in 2007. India stands 13th in Myanmar&#8217;s foreign investors&#8217; line-up.</p>
<p>Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna signed a memorandum of understanding on building an industrial training school in Myanmar&#8217;s Myingyan during his visit to Mayanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw in June 2011.</p>
<p>India and Myanmar have committed to the upgrading of border roads and maritime transport along the Kaladan River to boost trade. In December 2010, India has laid the foundation for the construction of port and waterway terminal of Multimodal Transit Transport Project, in Sittway Township in western Myanmar&#8217;s Rakhine state.</p>
<p>The Kaladan River project, involving the Indian Inland Waterways Authority and ESSAR Projects (India) Co Ltd, is expected to be completed by 2013.</p>
<p>India has also committed to help Myanmar boost the ecotourism sector as part of its assistance rendered to countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by assisting in maintenance of ancient buildings in archeological and historical sites.</p>
<p>In April 2011, India and Myanmar has signed a memorandum of understanding on cultural cooperation to speed up all-round renovation of the Arnanda Pagoda in Myanmar&#8217;s ancient city of Bagan.</p>
<p>Thein Sein’s visit is more likely to focus on bilateral business ties.<br />
The presidential entourage includes a large ministerial delegation and the presence of major economic ministries in the delegation underlines a greater desire to engage and invite India to participate in that country’s development agenda.</p>
<p>The powerful military is represented by the third senior-most general in the armed forces. This is a significant departure from the past when the military formed a major part of the entourage of senior general Than Shwe during visits to India last year.</p>
<p>A slew of important agreements on economic and trade matters are expected to be signed during the visit. As India and Myanmar share a border of over 1,600 kilometers, security issues at India’s northeastern border is like to be discussed with emphasis on improving the security environment on respective land borders.</p>
<p>President Thein Sein’s first six months in office have been remarkable. The Indian visit is going to be litmus test for him. Living up to the expectations, it is a foregone conclusion that India- Myanmar ties is reaching to a new level.</p>
<p><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Mujtaba-Syed.jpg" ><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-3742 alignleft" title="Mujtaba Syed" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Mujtaba-Syed-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><strong>AUTHOR</strong>: Mujtaba Syed<br />
<strong>URL</strong>: <a target="_blank" href="http://mujtabas-musings.blogspot.com" >http://mujtabas-musings.blogspot.com</a><br />
<strong>E-MAIL</strong>: syedalimujtaba [at] yahoo.com</p>
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		<title>The beginnings of political transition in Burma?</title>
		<link>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/the-beginnings-of-political-transition-in-burma/</link>
		<comments>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-east-asia/the-beginnings-of-political-transition-in-burma/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2011 07:00:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South-east Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alexey Borodavkin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung Ki]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung San Suu Kyi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ILO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John McCain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Joseph Yun]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[junta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[political transition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unocha]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vijay Nambiar]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nl-aid.org/?p=7876</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When Burma’s most prominent dissident and de facto opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released last November expectations of wider political reform were few and far between. Most viewed her release from house arrest as little more than a token gesture by the Burmese Junta to deflect criticism of the deeply flawed elections that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 330px"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Atnl_Wt-w38/To8_WvO-bcI/AAAAAAAAAK0/R6DugyV0hq4/s320/ap_burma_Aung_San_Suu_Kyi_bagan_visit_04jul11_480.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="212" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Suu Kyi on her trip to Bagan (courtesy of AP)</p></div>
<p>When Burma’s most prominent dissident and de facto opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released last November expectations of wider political reform were few and far between. Most viewed her release from house arrest as little more than a token gesture by the Burmese Junta to deflect criticism of the deeply flawed elections that had taken place just six days earlier. And yet something does seem to be happening in Burma, albeit slowly<br />
<span id="more-7876"></span><br />
Although Suu Kyi has kept a lower public profile since her release she has nevertheless been permitted to speak openly to western media organizations and in July she made her first trip outside Rangoon since her release. She was joined on the trip by her son Kim Aris, a British citizen, who had only been allowed to visit his mother for the first time in 10 years shortly after her release. The last time Suu Kyi traveled outside of the former capital in 2003 her party was brutally attacked by thugs from the Union Solidarity and Development Association and the Swan Ah Ashin militia killing 70 people. This time her trip passed without incident despite the fact that crowds of supporters flocked to see her when she made what was ostensibly a private trip to the temples in Bagan.</p>
<p>The most significant event however came on August 19th when Suu Kyi met with Burma’s new ‘civilian’ President Thein Sein, following two earlier meeting with the Labor Minister Aung Ki. The meeting, was broadcast on national television and culminated in a VIP dinner hosted by Thein Sein’s wife. Such a meeting would have been unthinkable barely a year ago when the Junta had been at great pains to marginalize the opposition leader. While such a meeting may not have resulted in any landmarks agreements the symbolic sugnificance of this should not be understated. Suu Kyi herself has said that she believes Thein Sein is committed to reform stating in an interview to a reporter from BBC World’s Burmese service, “I believe that the president wants to institute reforms, but how far these reforms will be able to go and how effective these will be, that still waits, still needs to be seen.&#8221;</p>
<p>In addition to the above ‘thaw’ in relations between the government and the opposition there have been additional signs of change. Some previously blocked websites have been made available, some foreign journalists allowed into the country on official visas (rather than surreptiously on tourist visas) and the UN special rapporteur on human rights, Tomas Quintana, was permitted to enter the country and meet with Suu Kyi for the first time since February 2010. There have alos been visits by several senior delegations of foreign politicians and diplomats including John McCain, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joseph Yun; a high-ranking EU delegation; acting UN Special Envoy Vijay Nambiar; and Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexey Borodavkin. Meanwhile parliamentary committees have been reviewing hundreds of pieces of legislation and taking advice from international organizations such as the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Unocha), as well as consulting with local NGOs.</p>
<p>Critics maintain that none of this has resulted in any actual political reform and that while the opening is welcome, over 2000 activists and pro-democracy supporters remain imprisoned in the country and the military continues attacks against the country’s ethnic minorities. Even here however there has been evidence of some shift in policy. Reports claim that Suu Kyi, the government and US officials have been discussing the possibility of releasing some 600 of these prisoners who the government has acknowledged for the first time as <em>political </em>prisoners.</p>
<p>It is too early to say why this thaw is taking place or where it might lead. Early suggestions argue that there are signs of divisions within the country’s political and military elite with Thein Sein allegedly siding with younger officers against Senior General Than Shwe and other hardliners. The motives of course seem clear, to end the economic and financial sanctions the EU and the US have imposed on Burma. So far Washington has cautiously welcomed the above developments and indicated that it may be willing to waive some prohibitions on assistance from financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF. As the newly appointed Special Representative to Burma, Derek Mitchell said, “We’re going to meet their action with action… If they take steps, we will take steps to demonstrate that we are supportive of the path to reform.”</p>
<p>With so many false dawns in the past many remain deeply skeptical however events in recent months have taken most commentators by surprise and should nonetheless be welcomed. In the words of Chinese philosopher Laozi, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”</p>
<p><strong><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott.jpg" ><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2361 alignleft" title="Dr Jason Abbott" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>AUTHOR</strong>: Dr. Jason Abbott<br />
<strong>URL</strong>: <a target="_blank" href="http://profjabbott.blogspot.com" >http://profjabbott.blogspot.com</a><br />
<strong>E-MAIL</strong>: jason.abbott [at] louisville.edu</p>
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		<title>Burma and India: the new geopolitical reality</title>
		<link>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-asia/burma-and-india-the-new-geopolitical-reality/</link>
		<comments>http://www.nl-aid.org/continent/south-asia/burma-and-india-the-new-geopolitical-reality/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 May 2011 05:56:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South Asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andaman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung San Suu Kyi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aung Sang Suu Kyi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bay of Bengal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Burma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cambodia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GAIL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Great Coco Island]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hindu Nationalist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hu Jintao]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[India Oil and Natural Gas Corp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[India’s State run Gas Authority]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyaukpyu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Geopolitical Reality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nicobar Islands]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oil refinery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ONGC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Singapore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Straits of Malacca]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thailand]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vajpayee]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.nl-aid.org/?p=4521</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In a recent interview Aung Sang Suu Kyi remarked that she was disappointed with the Indian government&#8217;s policy towards Burma. The recently freed Nobel Peace Prize winner said, &#8221; I am saddened with India. I would like to have thought that India would be standing behind us&#8230;That it would have followed in the tradition of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_4522" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 210px"><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Former-Indian-Prime-Minister-Vajpayee.png" ><img class="size-full wp-image-4522" title="Former Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Former-Indian-Prime-Minister-Vajpayee.png" alt="" width="200" height="132" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Former Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee</p></div>
<p>In a recent interview Aung Sang Suu Kyi remarked that she was disappointed with the Indian government&#8217;s policy towards Burma. The recently freed Nobel Peace Prize winner said, &#8221; I am saddened with India. I would like to have thought that India would be standing behind us&#8230;That it would have followed in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru&#8221;.<br />
<span id="more-4521"></span><br />
India&#8217;s policy towards Burma shifted markedly after 1993 under the Premiership of Rao and then from 1998-2004 under Hindu Nationalist leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Abandoning overt sympathy for the Burmese democracy movement India began openly engaging economically and militarily with the military Junta driven increasingly by the cold hard logic of realpolitik. Since then India has emerged as the 2nd largest market for Burmese exports after Thailand (approx. 17% of Burma&#8217;s exports) and the 4th largest trading partner after Thailand, China and Singapore. (Figures for 2008-09).</p>
<p>India’s increasing contacts with the Burmese junta are driven by two security priorities. Firstly to win the support of the Junta in combating separatist rebels in India’s northeastern states particularly making it more difficult for rebels to cross over the relatively porous 1,500 km border. To this end India has provided The Burmese military with tanks, helicopters and artillery. Of much greater significance, however, is the need to counter China’s growing influence in the country and in Southeast Asia as a whole.</p>
<p>Since Burma has increasingly become a pariah state in the eyes of much of the international community, and Western sanctions have taken effect, Chinese investment, aid and arms have poured into the country. India is particularly concerned about extensive Chinese military cooperation and investment in the development of naval and intel facilities including the upgrading of the naval base in Sittwe, close to the Indian city of Calcutta, and the construction of a deep-sea port at Kyaukpyu which will be located on a planned 2,000 km highway between the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming and Sittwe. Of even greater concern has been the recent construction of reconnaissance and electronic intelligence systems on the Great Coco Island, located just 18 kilometers from India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands.</p>
<p>China’s interest in Burma forms part of its so-called ‘string of pearls’ strategy: a plan to develop a series of military bases and military ties with Burma, Cambodia and Thailand in order to counter its strategic vulnerability in the Straits of Malacca. Currently 80 per cent of China’s energy imports pass through the straits, which are one of the busiest seaways in the world and narrow to only 1.5 nautical miles at this narrowest. This makes the Straits assume enormous strategic importance on the one hand but on the other makes China strategically vulnerable to a blockade. Consequently China’s string of pearls strategy has not only sought to develop military ties with its neighbors in Southeast Asia but also to develop alternative transit routes for oil, gas and other imported raw materials.</p>
<p>Central to this strategy is a multi-billion dollar investment in building a 2,300km oil and gas pipeline form Kyaukpyu in the Bay of Bengal to Kunming where a major new oil refinery is being planned. Such pipelines will enable China to divert oil imports from Africa and the Middle East away from the Straits of Malacca. Construction on the first phases of this was begun earlier this year.</p>
<p>India’s rapprochement with Burma then is an important part of its attempt to counter China’s growing influence in the region and enhance its own standing in the region. Economically the most visible sign of this is the involvement of India’s State run Gas Authority (GAIL) and ONGC’s (India Oil and Natural Gas Corp) in the Shwe gas project, a massive offshore gas field in the Bay of Bengal. GAIL owns a 10 per cent share of the A1 and A3 fields while ONGC owns a 20 per cent share. More recently ONGC and GAIL will spend $250 million on a connecting pipeline. The Shwe gas project is expected to become the single largest source of income for the Junta providing an estimated $580 million per year for the regime. In addition India has also proved the regime with a series of loans for a series of IT infrastructure projects, expertise that Than Shwe is keen to attract to help develop the area around the largely vacant administrative capital Naypidaw as an IT hub.</p>
<p>For all the vilification of the military Junta, the plight of its people, its embattled democracy movement and of the charismatic and disciplined defiance of Aung San Suu Kyi, the future of this country is increasingly being shaped by the changing geopolitics of the 21st Century. A century in which Asia’s two giants, China and India, will increasingly find their futures inextricably locked and interwoven.</p>
<p><strong><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott.jpg" ><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-2361 alignleft" title="Dr Jason Abbott" src="/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dr-Jason-Abbott-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>AUTHOR</strong>: Dr. Jason Abbott<br />
<strong>URL</strong>: <a target="_blank" href="http://profjabbott.blogspot.com" >http://profjabbott.blogspot.com</a><br />
<strong>E-MAIL</strong>: jason.abbott [at] louisville.edu</p>
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