Suu Kyi Research Articles

Book Review: The Rebirthing of God: Christianity's Struggle for New Beginnings

The Rebirthing of God: Christianity's Struggle for New Beginnings. By John Philip Newell. Woodstock, Vt.: Skylight Paths Publishing, 2014. xvii + 135 pp. $19.99 (cloth).Minister in Church of Scotland, spiritual director, author of many books, peacemaker, and scholar, John Philip Newell is surely of most centered speakers about anything, and his latest book is bound to be widely received, read, and pondered by many. Its title might seem at first glance to be yet another addition to re-visioning Christianity, probably more aptly re-envisioning. But this work is freshly presented in calm tone that is Newell's, a tone he skillfully uses both as writer and speaker.In introduction, Newell pays homage to C. G. Jung, whom he names one of great prophets of modern human soul as well as founder of analytical psychology (p. x). Newell relates story of twelve-yearold Jung perceiving an image rising up from unconscious that horrified him. But it persisted on coming forth. Much later in his life, he allowed himself to name that image: above of cathedral in Basel was throne of God, and coming down from throne was ?an enormous turd' that smashed into and walls of cathedral crumbled (p. xi). It is this image that is, according to Newell, smashing into spire of Western Christianity and aiding in its collapse.So, what to do about it? It can be denied, an attempt can be made to shore up collapsed foundations, or Christians can ask what is trying to be born that requires a radical reorientation of our vision. A midwife whom Newell met told him, upon hearing this story about Jung, that the turd nearly always comes before birth. So, Newell asks, What is it that we need to let go of to prepare way for new birthing? (p. xi).Eight chapters follow this earthy introduction, each providing ways of Reconnecting: with Earth, compassion, light, journey, spiritual practice, nonviolence, unconscious, and love itself. Each chapter focuses upon or two authors who illuminate these ways of reconnecting and offers a geographical place or station on Isle of Iona as a metaphor for new beginnings. The authors cited in chapters are eco-theologian Thomas Berry, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, nonviolent leader Aung San Suu Kyi, poet Mary Oliver, English Benedictine Bede Griffiths, Thomas Merton, Mahatma Gandhi, Carl Jung, and Simone Weil. They are used skillfully and provide more than a simple nodding reference here and there.As who has spent a week on Iona, I resonated strongly with places Newell so profoundly names and that have deep meaning for him: roofless Nunnery, Crossroads, Hill of Angels, St. Columbas Bay, Hermit's Cell, Dun I (the highest point on island), Well of Eternal Youth, and St. Martin's Cross. Pilgrims to Iona are richly blessed on pilgrimage around small island as they stop at each of these places to pray and to reflect on power of God therein. Without visual illustrations it is easy to imagine these places, even if they have not been visited by reader, so powerful are Newell's descriptions.So, reader dives into content of these chapters, each bearing fruit in practice. Storytelling, sharing of dreams, quotations from writings of above-mentioned authors (Olivers poetry is liberally utilized)- all serve to richly illustrate reconnections. It is almost as if these writers are Newell's personal friends, so intimately are they referred to. …

The Female Voice of Myanmar: Khin Myo Chit to Aung San Suu Kyi

The Female Voice of Myanmar seeks to offer a female perspective on the history and political evolution of Myanmar. It delves into the lives and works of four of Myanmar's remarkable women who set aside their lives to answer the call of their country: Khin Myo Chit, who spoke about latent sexual politics in pre-Independent Burma; Ludu Daw Amar, who as the editor of the leftist Ludu Daily, was deemed anti-establishment and was witness to the socialist government's abortive efforts at ethnic reconciliation; Ma Thida, whose writing bears testimony to the impact the authoritative military rule had on the individual psyche; and Aung San Suu Kyi, who has re-articulated Burmese nationalism. This book breaks new ground in exploring their writing, both published and hitherto unexamined, some in English and much in Burmese, while the intimate biographical sketches offer a glimpse into the Burmese home and the shifting feminine image.

The Female Voice of Myanmar: Khin Myo Chit to Aung San Suu Kyi

The Female Voice of Myanmar: Khin Myo Chit to Aung San Suu Kyi Nilanjana Sengupta Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015, 407p.The female voice of the title of Nilanjana Sengupta's book belongs to four twentieth century women writers and activists: Khin Myo Chit, Ludu Daw Amar, Ma Thida, and Aung San Suu Kyi. The Female Voice of Myanmar: Khin Myo Chit to Aung San Suu Kyi traces the course of each of these women's lives and works, identifying the democracy movement of 1988 as the point at which their four stories converge. Sengupta's juxtaposition of these four narratives illuminates the changing political landscape of twentieth century Myanmar from a specifically female perspective.Sengupta opens her analysis with the story of Supaya-Lat, the last queen of independent Burma. Supaya-Lat was villainized by the generations who came after her as an ambitious and ruthless woman, blamed for the British conquest. She became a frequently invoked example of the catastrophic consequences of undue female influence. By placing this story at the start of her analysis, Sengupta emphasizes the gendered challenges that have existed for any woman in Myanmar who chooses to work actively for political change. The recurring question of how women can negotiate the fraught realm of politics is one of the threads that Sengupta uses to bind together her narrative.Dividing her work into four main chapters, each devoted to one woman, Sengupta draws extensively on each of these women's published writings in English and Burmese. Writing about women whose life stories at times overlapped in time and space, she also identifies parallels and connections in the way that these women wrote about and experienced gender politics and national politics. This work is a hybrid: literary biography and political analysis. While the title may suggest that this work is a broad survey of twentieth century Burmese women's writing, this is not the case. Sengupta's exploration is finely focused and richly detailed.The first chapter focuses on Khin Myo Chit, born in 1915 when Burma was still under British rule. In her description of Khin Myo Chit's childhood, Sengupta introduces one of the themes that will recur throughout the book: the challenges facing women who deviated from prescribed feminine expectations. Khin Myo Chit is described as a girl who picked up boyish habits to survive in a male-dominated world (p. 17). She was driven to seek a secondary education, leaving her family's home near Mandalay for Rangoon University in 1933. There she joined the emerging student nationalist movement, and carved out a niche for herself writing for various magazines and papers, though she found her choice of subject matter somewhat constrained by her gender. Khin Myo Chit's involvement with nationalist politics continued during the Second World War and the Japanese occupation of Burma. Her literary career straddled the colonial and postcolonial eras, and after the military coup of 1962, she wrote for the government paper Working People's Daily, walking what Sengupta describes as a tightrope in the face of enhanced government press scrutiny. Khin Myo Chit deployed wit and irony to indirectly express her criticism of an increasingly repressive government regime. When her association with Working People's Daily ended in 1968, she continued to write, exploring Burmese history and culture in fiction and non-fiction. She was particularly interested in the role of women in society: she translated a selection of Englishlanguage essays on the subject that would be published posthumously in 2006. Khin Myo Chit advocated for democracy in the revolution of 1988, and in the last decade of her life her path intersected with Aung San Suu Kyi, whom she hosted after her first release from house arrest.Born in the same year as Khin Myo Chit, Ludu Daw Amar also attended Rangoon University, and joined the nationalist movement. …

Evaluating discourses of dissent: Questions of Moralität and Sittlichkeit

This article contends that the language of dissident movements should be analyzed through the lenses of two modes of moral reasoning in order to evaluate the potential success of those movements. These two modes are characterized as the differences between Moralität and Sittlichkeit, Moralität as a type of moral reasoning based in universal principles, Sittlichkeit based in local manners and customs. Both types of reasoning can be observed in most dissident movements, and this article argues that dissident movements will not be successful without a certain balance of both types of moral reasoning infused in the processes of engaging citizens, mobilizing action, justifying strategy, and ensuring representation. This article explores several historical discourses, including anti-communist dissidents in Eastern Europe, Gandhi, and Aung San Suu Kyi. These cases demonstrate both the differences in these two modes of moral reasoning, and the various successful ways they can be used together as discourses of dissent. Conclusions are drawn for the sake of application to global dissident movements more generally.

The Process of Establishing the Dictatorship of General Ne Win in 1962 and the Obstacles in the Way of Democracy Myanmar in 2016

On November 8, 2015 the free general election after 25 years in Myanmar ended with the victory of the opposition parties led by Mrs. Suu Kyi as President, a democratic era began in Myanmar. A history question posed is the military dictatorship was established and exists in how the passage of time in Myanmar. This article will analyze the basis of existence of political thought and of the dictatorship of General Ne Win's 1962-1988 in Myanmar.The coup d'etat is not revolutionary, and the source of them are derived from the economic turmoil, politics, society of the country in each certain time. Seen from the coup in the area also shows us that, the first coup of March 1962 by General Ne Win overthrew the regime of Prime Minister U Nu with the establishment of the Council of revolution is a process of history, has shown the next development step of the "Myanmar democracy within the influence of the army". The Government is still in the hands of the military until today, represents the will as well as maintain the interests of the bourgeoisie and the bourgeois led the country Myanmar.

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. …

DECODING MYANMAR’S 2015 ELECTION

The election helps the democratization process move forward. However, the nature of power transition suggests that some authoritarian elements are likely to remain entrenched. The article (which gives a full account of the election including the election process, the parties involved, the results and the negotiations following the elections including those involving Aung Sang Suu Kyi) argues that holding of a free and fair election is important for democratization but does not guarantee a successful transition to consolidated democracy.

Burma Votes for Change: The Challenges Ahead

Abstract: Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy swept Burma’s November 2015 elections. Will the new NLD-led government be able to live up to high expectations that it will deliver better governance, national reconciliation, and some form of federalism?

Zwischen dem Großen Erwählten und Westminster Überlegungen zum Demokratieverständnis von Aung San Suu Kyi

Abstract Between the Great Elect and Westminster – Some Reflections on Aung San Suu Ky’s Concept of Democracy. In view of the elections in Myanmar held on November 8, 2015, the article investigates the concept of democracy set forth by the country’s best known politician, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. She invokes two traditions of “democracy” that contradict each other in terms of the role of the opposition. The Buddhist concept of the Maha-sammata, the Great Select, that the Burmese leader invokes as a Burmese model of democracy is elected unanimously and for life. The relevance of this model for Burma’s and Myanmar’s political culture is substantiated by empirical evidence like the outcome of elections since the beginning of the twentieth century until the recent elections held in 2015. On the other hand, the leader of Myanmar’s most successful party looks at a Westminster style democracy based on the idea that a loyal opposition controls the government as a model for the country’s future political development. Even after the free and fair elections in 2015, it will be one of the most important tasks of Myanmar politics to solve this “opposition dilemma”.

MYANMAR’S TRYST WITH DEMOCRACY: LESSONS FROM INDIA

Although nascent and pre-matured, there is no doubt that, whatever ‘attention’ and ‘spotlight’ Myanmar is enjoying today is all because of ‘democracy’ and attempts at ‘democratic transition’ undertaken by President Thein Sein’s government in power since 2010. In the political front, the President released most political prisoners from exile; freed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest; amended the electoral laws to enable her and the National League for Democracy (NLD) to contest the parliamentary by-elections (Suu Kyi has joined the parliament now as the main opposition party); freed the media and allowed civil society groups to function more freely in the country. In the critical domain of ethnic relations, the President promised that, his government would seek to solve the root causes of ethnic problems through political means and even organize a nation-wide ceasefire agreement to enable lasting peace among its ethnic communities. In other social and economic sectors, the President has undertaken commendable changes aimed at boosting economic growth and sustainable development at the grassroots level. But beneath the facade of seeming progresses, critics fear the motives behind democratization in Myanmar, given the present administration’s stubbornness in amending/rewriting the 2008 constitution, it’s slackened pace in arresting corruption and ensuring people-centric development in the poverty-stricken/ethnically deprived areas of the country. The present paper is an attempt to compare and contrast Myanmar’s experiment with democratization vis-a-vis India whose tryst with democracy, pluralism and capacity building has made it a model for discussion at home and abroad. India’s electoral process, experiment with federalism, an independent judiciary and a vibrant media has lessons that can not only make Myanmar’s democratic transition irreversible, but enable the two neighbours to jointly address their common problems of insurgency, corruption, unemployment and all inclusive governance.

Myanmar: the challenges of power

Despite the National League for Democracy's resounding victory in Myanmar's November 2015 general election, the country's political future is far from clear. There remain major obstacles to a peaceful transfer of power from the military-supported government to one led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

Book Review: Gravers, M., & Flemming, Y. (Eds.). (2014). Burma/Myanmar—Where now?

Book Review: Gravers, M., & Flemming, Y. (Eds.). (2014). Burma/Myanmar-Where now? Copenhagen, Denmark: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. ISBN: 978-87-7694-112-3 -XIV. 447 pages.Myanmar has been ruled by an authoritarian military regime for more than half a century. The Southeast Asian country gained sad notoriety through political repression, massive human rights abuses, armed conflicts, socioeconomic decline, and extreme poverty. This began to change only in 2011 when the junta replaced itself with a quasi-civilian government in order to seek ways out of its political and economic isolation. Thereafter, the country embarked on a new political course of opening up and political liberalization. While the international community has euphorically celebrated Myanmar's self-initiated roadmap to democratization, new and old problems endanger the transitional process. In response to this, Mikael Gravers, an anthropologist and Myanmar scholar, and Flemming Ytzen, a journalist with a long-lasting Burma engagement, put together this ambitious volume taking stock of the current political situation with a thematic focus on conflict resolution, peace building, and democratization. Bringing together the perspectives of 21 academics, journalists, and practitioners, the purpose of this book is to address the attainments and prospects of the transitional process so far, as well as the future challenges and threats lying ahead of the conflict-torn country.The book features three parts and a brief conclusive chapter. Part I, entitled Order and Change (pp. 23-139), guides the reader through the most salient events, developments, and changes of the country's ongoing transition from a military dictatorship to a civil government with all its institutional consequences. Ytzen and Gravers draw a lively picture of the controversial elections of 2012 as well as the upcoming polls of 2015. This is followed by an overview of the altering role of the media and newly emerging space for political engagement. This section also looks at the main actors and key political figures, their interests and strategies, most notably Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD), President Thein Sein, the military-affiliated Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), and the various ethnic minority parties, but also societal forces such as the Tatmadaw (military of the union government), the bureaucracy, the Buddhist Sangha, business interests, and (armed) ethnic groups. Michael Lidauer provides detailed insights into the new constitution and the political administrative system enshrined in it. He highlights the need for more decentralization, constitutional amendments, and corresponding changes in the election system on the way towards a new and more democratic state in Myanmar. Charles Petrie and Ashley South briefly sketch the country's civil society landscape and elucidate the potential role NGOs may play for peace building and democratization. More critically, referring to Myanmar's geostrategic position in the region, Bertil Lintner argues that reforms are embedded in and driven by geopolitical power games and interests that do not necessarily serve the democratic transition in the first place. Subsequently, Josine Legene and Flemming Ytzen describe how global and regional players aligned their foreign policy towards Myanmar throughout its turbulent history. Beyond politics, major social issues are addressed by Marie Ditlevsen, who sheds light on current developments in health and education, while Jessica Harriden elaborates on the situation of women who suffered greatly because of decades of armed conflict and violence. Anna Roberts shows that despite recent legal improvements, the human rights situation remains precarious and has even aggravated in the face of flaring anti-Muslim violence.With almost two hundred pages, Part II, entitled Challenges to Unity (pp. 142- 338), represents the analytical heart of this volume. …

Buddhism goes to the movies: introduction to Buddhist thought and practice

Buddhism Goes to the Movies: Introduction to Buddhist Thought and Practice explains the basics of Buddhist philosophy and practice through a number of dramatic films from around the world. This book introduces readers in a dynamic way to the major traditions of Buddhism: the Theravāda, and various interrelated Mahāyāna divisions including Zen, Pure Land and Tantric Buddhism. Students can use Ronald Green’s book to gain insights into classic Buddhist themes, including Buddhist awakening, the importance of the theory of dependent origination, the notion of no-self, and Buddhist ideas about life, death and why we are here. Contemporary developments are also explored, including the Socially Engaged Buddhism demonstrated by such figures as the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other Buddhist activists. Finally, comparisons between filmic expressions of Buddhism and more traditional artistic expressions of Buddhism—such as mandala drawings—are also drawn. An important addition to any introduction to Buddhist philosophy and practice, Buddhism Goes to the Movies is an excellent way to bring Buddhist thought, history, and activity to the uninitiated and interested reader.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Buddhism & The Crisis in Myanmar (Burma)

The relationship of the current military regime in Myanmar to Aung San Suu Kyi and her father are necessary for full understanding of the political situation and future changes that might take place. The events of the pre-World War II period clarify current alignments of political and economic power as do the religious and ethnic elements.

Speaking rights to power: constructing political will

PREFACE INTRODUCTION: Rhetoric For Rights 1) SPEAKING RIGHTS a. Why We Care: Constructing solidarity b. The message: Human rights as global social imagination c. Hearts and Minds: The politics of persuasion 2) HISTORICAL REPERTOIRES: ATTENTION MUST BE PAID a. Solidarity: The Dreyfus Affair b. Internationalism: The Spanish Civil War c. Symbolism: The Holocaust d. Globalization: Revolution 2.0 3) VOICES: HEROES, MARTYRS, WITNESSES, AND EXPERTS a. Heroes and martyrs i. Nelson Mandela ii. Aung San Suu Kyi iii. Mothers of the Disappeared b. Witnesses and experts i. Doctors Without Borders ii. Amartya Sen iii. Paul Farmer c. : Death penalty campaigns in the U.S. 4) THE MESSAGE MATTERS: FRAMING THE CLAIM a. Poster children and sex slavery: framing human trafficking b. Reframing FGM: c. Human rights in Colombia: when frames fail d. The rhetoric of recognition: Darfur vs. Congo 5) PLOTTING RIGHTS: THE POWER OF PERFORMANCE a. From tragedy to testimonial: i. Voices of Witness ii. The Vagina Monologues b. Allegory as protest performance: Indian Summer c. The Power of Parody 1. From Putin's penis to Pussy Riot 2. Speaking to power: the Colbert challenge 6) MOBILIZING MEDIA: IS THERE AN APP FOR THAT? a. Iran: The revolution will not be televised b. China: The Long March to human rights c. The Arab Spring: The Face book path to freedom d. Kony 2012: When buzz is not enough 7) AUDIENCES: CONSTRUCTING COSMOPOLITANS a. Building communities of conscience: Scholars at Risk b. Inter-ethnic solidarity: i. The Japanese-American Citizens' League and Arab-Americans ii. African-Americans and the anti-apartheid movement iii. American Jews and Darfur iv. Armenian-Americans v. Dueling diasporas and burning bridges: Israel-Palestine c. Across the great divide: Men who care about violence against women i. Norm entrepreneurs: ii. Role change through small talk iii. Global Good Samaritans and gender-based asylum 8) CONSTRUCTING POLITICAL WILL a. Another world is possible b. The power of persuasion: The Liberian civil war c. Acting globally REFERENCES

A Politician, Not an Icon: Aung San Suu Kyi's Silence on Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya

In Myanmar (also known as Burma), the Rohingya are a persecuted Muslim minority living mainly in northern Rakhine State. Aung San Suu Kyi, the iconic leader of Myanmar's opposition party the National League for Democracy (NLD), is championed as the voice of the people. However, on the matter of the Rohingya's persecution she has been notably silent. This article examines the possible reasons for Suu Kyi's silence and argues that Buddhist–Muslim political relations in Myanmar are central to understanding the reasons behind Suu Kyi's position on the Rohingya. It is suggested that various factors, including the history of the Rohingya in Myanmar, the NLD's attitude towards the Rohingya, Suu Kyi's sense of obligation to her father's political legacy, and Suu Kyi's views on ethnicity, are creating a political environment in which Suu Kyi is presented with pragmatic political reasons for staying silent. Given Suu Kyi has the potential to become a future national leader, an understanding of her behaviours towards a sizeable persecuted Muslim minority is important. This is particularly the case when consideration is given to the contemporary pressures on Muslims to embrace radical politics and the implications this could have for Myanmar and the region.

Interpreting Recent Developments in Myanmar as an Attempt to Establish Political Legitimacy

Myanmar is currently undergoing widespread changes that are transforming the country’s political and socio-economic landscape. These changes include the newly promulgated Constitution that was ratified in 2008 and a national election held in November 2010. Additionally, by-elections in April 2012 saw the return to Parliament of the National League for Democracy and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The reforms under the new Thein Sein-led government include a congenial working relationship with the political opposition, freeing political prisoners and the granting of amnesty to political exiles to encourage their return, the negotiation of ceasefire agreements with almost all of the ethnic insurgent armies, and the inauguration of the Myanmar Peace Centre as a vehicle for the resolution of domestic conflict. These and related reforms are designed to secure the government’s internal and external political legitimacy which it has lacked since the fall of the previous socialist government in 1988.

MYANMAR'S ‘PIVOT’ TOWARD THE SHIBBOLETH OF ‘DEMOCRACY’

The recent reforms in Myanmar were not brought about by Western sanctions or some contingent event, but rather planned well in advance,. For there is more continuity than change in Myanmar's political system, which is dominated by the practitioners of national power-the army and the bureaucracy. Of course there are new actors, principally Aung San Suu Kyi and the party she leads, the NLD. Yet the reality remains: state security has to be maintained. Rebalancing with ASEAN, India and now the West is helpful in terms of independence vis a vis China. This is not an invitation to the West to attempt to subvert the existing order.

Islamophobia: Burma’s racist fault-line

The author, who has interviewed human rights activists in Burma, analyses the deeply entrenched and unchecked Islamophobia against the Rohingya, who have lived at least two centuries in Burma and yet are refused citizenship. They and Muslims from around the country have been subject to a recent deadly wave of anti-Muslim violence and yet politicians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, are unwilling to address the institutionalised racism, emphasising that constitutional change has to come first. The persecution of the Rohingya will continue, argues the author, while foreign governments are so willing to make political and economic deals with the racist former junta.

The Burmese traffic-jam explored: Changing dynamics and ambiguous reforms

Burma/Myanmar has been the epicenter of human trafficking and unsafe migration in mainland Southeast Asia. While “root causes” of trafficking are always complex, clearly, counter-productive agricultural and tax policies, political repression, military actions, and widespread human rights violations are heavily implicated in the underlying political ecology of trafficking/unsafe migration. Burma has been the embodiment of an “ethnocratic state,” in that the majority ethnic group in the country seeks to both dominate and exclude minorities. One result is that ethnic minorities have been disproportionately represented among irregular migrants and those most at risk of trafficking. Today, reforms are taking place in Burma. An eager international community embraces an optimism that may be the triumph of hope over experience. Yet Aung San Suu Kyi has warned of the dangers of “reckless optimism.” This paper examines the dynamics of trafficking in Burma and the possible implications of the current reform process.