Life In Myanmar Research Articles

The Persecution of Rohingya Muslims and the Path to Democratization in Myanmar

Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have long endured severe discrimination and persecution. Although the Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for centuries, their existence is not fully accepted by the majority of Buddhist society. Rohingya Muslims residing in the north-western area of Rakhine are considered stateless people. In the last ten years, Rohingya Muslims have been treated severely and even expelled from their place of birth. This humanitarian crisis has attracted many international organizations that are aiding Rohingya and urging Myanmar’s civilian government to recognize Rohingya as an official ethnic group. This article explores the roots of Islamophobia in Myanmar and analyses its effect on Muslims’ daily life in Myanmar, and in particular for the Rohingya. Ultimately, it is important to discern the path of democratization in Myanmar, as currently led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), analyzing the present state and future of democratization of the country, especially on a socio-political level.

High sedentary behaviour and low physical activity are associated with lower health related quality of life in Myanmar and Vietnam

The study aimed to estimate independent and combined associations of sedentary behaviour and physical activity with health related quality of life (HRQoL) in Myanmar and Vietnam. The cross-...

Saffron Shadows and Salvaged Scripts: Literary Life in Myanmar under Censorship and in Transition by Ellen Wiles

Reviewed by: Saffron Shadows and Salvaged Scripts: Literary Life in Myanmar under Censorship and in Transition by Ellen Wiles Kenneth Wong Ellen Wiles. 2015. Saffron Shadows and Salvaged Scripts: Literary Life in Myanmar under Censorship and in Transition. New York: Columbia University Press. 288 pages. ISBN 9780231173285 The Ghosts of Censor in the Land of Saffron Robes Five years after Ellen Wiles' Saffron Shadows and Salvage Scripts, the specters in her book continue to haunt Myanmar's literary scene Arriving in Myanmar (Burma) to work for a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in 2013, Ellen Wiles, a human rights lawyer, got the rare chance to witness a shuttered literary community in its moment of rebirth. What was unfolding around her at a public performance—a poet burning a keyboard and a man recounting the brutal conditions of the government-run Coco Island prison—seemed unthinkable two or three years ago. Throughout much of the 1970s and the 1980s, Burmese artists, writers, and poets were in the chokehold of the [End Page 154] military regime's censor board, notorious for its paranoiac overreaction to anything that seemed antigovernment. Materials destined for printing and broadcasting had to be submitted in advance to the Say Pay See Zit Yay (literally translates to Press Scrutiny) authorities. As outlined by Wiles, the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Law defined the scope with a long list of dos and don'ts (mostly don'ts). Types of content deemed unfit for print include • anything detrimental to the Burmese socialist program; • anything detrimental to the ideology of the state; • anything detrimental to the socialist economy; • anything that might be harmful to national solidity and unity . . . (Wiles, 24) The doctrine was eleven items long, each item casting the net of ambiguity wider than the last, to catch virtually anything anyone might conceivably write, thus giving the Press Scrutiny Board (PSB) the justification to reject any material. Soon after Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party defeated the former military man Thein Sein's Union Solidarity and Development Party in the 2012 election, the country's literary community experienced a disorienting shift. Seemingly overnight, the PSB was no more. "Burmese writers marveled at the announcement in August 2012 that the most onerous publishing rules would be lifted and that prepublication scrutiny would no longer be required," recorded Wiles (Wiles, 27). Used to having every single line in their manuscripts scrutinized, accustomed to having whole manuscripts rejected for frivolous reasons, Burmese writers welcomed the new openness with a mix of hope and doubt, much in the same way a long-time political prisoner might find his sudden and unexplained release difficult to believe. In this rare moment, Wiles conceived her book project: "an ethnographic investigation of literary culture in Myanmar (Burma) under censorship, and the new directions it is taking now" (Wiles, 1). This was the genesis of Saffron Shadows and Salvage Scripts. [End Page 155] Written in Captivity Wiles gives a brief sociopolitical history of Myanmar, highlighting the swift erosion of the freedom of expression during former strongman General Ne Win's Socialist Era (socialist in name but authoritarian in character). Under the PSB's tight ironclad reign, the country's literary figures, ranging from timid to defiant, employed ingenuity to get their points across without getting arrested; to slip their words of conscience through the censorship loopholes; and, in some cases, to physically smuggle their heartfelt words out of prison at considerable risk to themselves and their collaborators. Inevitably, the exchanges between the authors striving to express their discontent and the authorities charged with silencing their dissident voices evolved into a sophisticated cat-and-mouse game. "In prison, I wasn't allowed pen and paper, but I wanted to write, so I would grind bricks on the floor and make a paste with water, and then I would use that to make chalk, and then I would write poems on the wall to memorize them," recounted the late U Win Tin (1930-2004), a former political prisoner and respected NLD elder (Wiles, 57). Along with the authors' backgrounds, Wiles has also included a robust selection of short stories, excerpts, and poems that were once banned or illegal...

Signs of life in Myanmar’s nationwide ceasefire agreement? Finding a way forward

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on peace-building efforts in Myanmar implemented under the Nation Wide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2013. It assesses the ways in which the recently elected government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) has dealt with the NCA, and highlights opportunities and challenges. I argue that while the NLD government and Myanmar military remain crucial to the success of peace efforts, implementation of the NCA is impossible without the support of the eight current NCA signatories, in particularly the Karen National Union (KNU). Neglecting the importance of these actors not only provides an incomplete picture of ongoing peace-building efforts, but could also undermine efforts to promote national reconciliation that have thus far focused exclusively on the Myanmar government and the military. These signs of life emanating from the NCA signatories, however, have increasingly been undermined by an official failure to implement the agreement and to adhere to the agreed process and by ongoing hostilities between the military and four of the country’s ethnic armed groups.

Saffron Shadows and Salvaged Scripts: Literary Life in Myanmar Under Censorship and in Transition. By Ellen Wiles. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015. 288 pp. $50 cloth.

Saffron Shadows and Salvaged Scripts: Literary Life in Myanmar Under Censorship and in Transition. By Ellen Wiles. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015. 288 pp. $50 cloth.Myanmar turns a historic corner this year: the National League for Democracy party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, has just formed the majority of a new democratically elected parliament. The military government, which came to power in 1962, has been peacefully relinquishing control, albeit retaining a 25 percent presence in parliament which gives them the continued power of veto. A key indicator of change is the military's relaxation of its stranglehold on free speech, which supported half a century of repressive rule. At long last, Myanmar is on track to join the ranks of countries which protect freedom of expression. Saffron Shadows by Ellen Wiles is an important record of Burmese cultural production during this transition to democracy. Sociolegal scholars interested in censorship and the rule of law will welcome the rich interviews with contemporary writers that comprise the core of this book. They provide the first empirical study of the Burmese literary community since 2012 when the government stopped rigorously enforcing censorship laws. Each interview is paired with newly translated selections of the writer's work. The selected pieces are, on the whole, strong in their own right, so Saffron Shadows will appeal to readers interested in contemporary Asian poetry and literature as well.Wiles is a human rights lawyer; she conducted the ethnography while in Myanmar in 2013 training Burmese lawyers on the rule of law. Through this work, she explains, she encountered politically active poets and authors, who introduced her to the wider literary community. In all, 50 years of censorship profoundly impacted three generations of contemporary writers. Chapters Two, Three, and Four contain their selected writings, often alongside heartwrenching testimonies of spiritual resilience in the face of brutal persecution by the authorities. The sampling of selections offers readers a peek into the mind of the censor. These works were treated by the censors in one of three ways: there are those that were banned completely and only published after 2012; some were heavily censored, only then receiving the stamp of approval; while others were readily approved, with the junta even bestowing special honors on their authors. Unsurprisingly, censors banned outright or partially censored writing that overtly depicted challenges to the military's authority. For example, one of the translations in the book is a chapter excerpt from a novel describing a young man who is thrown in jail, simply for walking alongside protesting monks during the 2007 Saffron Revolution. When it was submitted to the censors, the whole novel was banned and the author's own publishing house was immediately shut down. The book was only published again after the lifting of the most repressive censorship laws in 2012. Off-limits topics also extended beyond politics. …

Saffron shadows and salvaged scripts: literary life in Myanmar under censorship and in transition

Saffron shadows and salvaged scripts: literary life in Myanmar under censorship and in transition

A history of Myanmar since ancient times: traditions and transformations

In A History of Myanmar since Ancient Times, Michael Aung-Thwin and Maitrii Aung-Thwin take us from the sacred stupas of the plains of Pagan to the grand, colonial-era British mansions, revealing the storied past and rich culture of this country. The book traces the traditions and transformations of Myanmar's communities over nearly three millennia, from the relics of its Neolithic civilization to the splendors of its pre-colonial kingdoms, its encounters with British colonialism and the struggles for the republic that followed the end of the Second World War. The authors also consider the complexities of present-day life in Myanmar and examine the key political events and debates of the last 25 years that have brought the world's attention to the country. By exploring current developments within the broader patterns of Myanmar's history, culture and society, the book provides a nuanced perspective on the issues and questions surrounding Myanmar's future. This updated edition considers the changes that have taken place since the elections of 2010, the reforms that the civilian government introduced and the ramifications of the country's new international status. It also assesses the implications of the 2012 by-elections, the ensuing political dynamics among various stakeholders and the continuing socio-economic challenges facing Myanmar in the twenty-first century. The most comprehensive history of Myanmar ever published in the English language, this book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Southeast Asian history and will surprise, challenge and inform in equal measure.

The Politics of Everyday Life in Twenty-First Century Myanmar

Myanmar has been conventionally regarded as one of the most repressive countries in the world. As a result, many scholars, journalists, and human rights organizations understandably focus their attention on the draconian policies of the Myanmarese military regime. When the country makes headlines, the story of events taking place is typically framed in terms of state oppression and direct popular opposition. This leads to a restrictive view of the “political” dimensions of life in Myanmar, an approach to the topic that deals with only a small number of admittedly important subjects: authoritarian governance, organized efforts to bring about systemic change, and the fate of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate whose latest release from house arrest put Myanmarese politics back in the headlines in November 2010. What is left out of the picture—or given only glancing attention—are a host of social, economic, and cultural issues that also have political dimensions and implications, namely the efforts by Myanmarese citizens to carve out space for independent, meaningful action on a personal level. These actions, which have political aspects but stop short of being outright forms of dissent, will be my focus in this essay.

AIRS impact on the analysis and forecast track of tropical cyclone Nargis in a global data assimilation and forecasting system

Tropical cyclones in the northern Indian Ocean pose serious challenges to operational weather forecasting systems, partly due to their shorter lifespan and more erratic track, compared to those in the Atlantic and the Pacific. Moreover, the automated analyses of cyclones over the northern Indian Ocean, produced by operational global data assimilation systems (DASs), are generally of inferior quality than in other basins, partly because of asymmetric data distribution and the absence of targeted observations inside cyclones. In this work it is shown that the assimilation of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) temperature retrievals under partial cloudy conditions can significantly impact the representation of the cyclone Nargis (which caused devastating loss of life in Myanmar in May 2008) in a global DAS. Forecasts produced from these improved analyses by a global model produce substantially smaller track errors. The impact of the assimilation of clear‐sky radiances on the same DAS and forecasting system is positive, but smaller than the one obtained by ingestion of AIRS retrievals, probably due to poorer coverage.