On December 6, the world saw Myanmar’s leaders ousted by a military takeover earlier this year receive their first verdict in a series of trials. National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were both initially sentenced to four years in prison for inciting...
On July 2, Myanmar became the only country in India’s immediate neighborhood to accuse China of interference in its internal affairs. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw or the combined armed forces of Myanmar, accused China of arming terrorist groups like the...
The specter of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace laureate, standing before the UN’s highest legal body to defend Myanmar against charges of genocide is striking. Suu Kyi was once the revered face of international human rights, but she is now defending the most indefensible of crimes. But beyond...
Bangladesh and the UN must continue to work together to improve the conditions for nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees. The year 2018 was a dire and desperate year for the Rohingya minority from western Myanmar. Two-thirds of the population that had been living in western Rakhine State before the...
The report is damning in its conclusions that the UN “demonstrably failed” in its approach in Myanmar, prioritizing democratic and development efforts at the expense of human rights. On August 27, the UN-mandated Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar released a...
Myanmar is witnessing an ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya. As the world’s attention is focused on the tragedy of Aleppo, a small pocket of western Myanmar is witnessing a genocide of its own in the making. In response to recent attacks against the police by Rohingya militants, the...
The ongoing religious tension fueled by extremism may become a substantial threat to Myanmar's democracy. With a new parliament sworn in and the date for selecting a new president fast approaching, Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) is now tasked with laying the foundation...
The new government has its hands full in bringing a more inclusive and genuine democratic system to Myanmar. By most accounts, November 8 marked a watershed moment in Myanmar’s struggle for democracy. For a country with a long history of military rule, there are plenty of reasons for...
The elections might be over, but the political battles have only just begun. On November 8, Myanmar went to the polls in a relatively hassle-free and clean fashion. Having witnessed events on the ground in Yangon, I applaud and congratulate the people of the country on what is shaping up to be a...
Myanmar’s constitution awards a quarter of its parliament to the military. But that’s not Aung San Suu Kyi’s biggest problem by a long shot. On November 8, voters went to the polls in Myanmar to elect a new parliament. The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD)—Nobel Peace Prize...
The upcoming polls represent a watershed moment for Myanmar’s emerging democracy. Myanmar’s Union Election Commission has announced that elections will go ahead on November 8 as planned, despite earlier reports of potential delays. The elections are widely expected to result in...
Will the seeds of democracy be firmly planted in Myanmar? As Burmese citizens prepare to cast their vote in October 2015, Myanmar is mantled in a discernible fervor of anticipation. In a country that has been embattled in the residue of a disintegrating democracy, the prospect of a free and...
Myanmar's new government has been quick to welcome Western leaders while hastily distancing themselves from China. The move is potentially dangerous due to the country's domestic situation. Myanmar has recently become the center of attention in the growing competition between China and the...
