If you thought last week’s story about Thailand’s decision to forcibly deport Rohingya refugees escaping ethnic violence in Myanmar was horrifying enough, you should probably stop reading now. An investigation conducted by the BBC has uncovered evidence that Thai military and police officials have been complicit in intercepting refugees and then selling them to human […]
I was fortunate to have spent the past year working in Phnom Penh. Cambodia is a raw, untamed land with beautiful sights but also shocking poverty. I’m no stranger to living in the region but, for my money, there is nothing more amazing in the world than driving through the rural countryside of Southeast Asia […]
Having visited Myanmar years ago when it seemed uncertain when or if political change would occur, I find it fascinating to watch the ongoing democratization of Myanmar, which continued to unfold this week with President Obama’s historic trip and meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, one of my personal heroes. In a generally optimistic time […]
U.S. President Obama is no stranger to Southeast Asia having spent parts of his childhood in Indonesia and returning several times to the region as Commander-in-Chief. And now, fresh off his reelection to the highest office in the land, President Obama will travel to the region next week on a three-country tour culminating in the […]
As history tells it, the father of modern day Myanmar, Gen. Aung San, was assassinated in 1947 not long after the country gained its independence from Britain as he sought to forge a democracy among leaders from Myanmar’s 100-plus ethnic groups. But even 50 years of authoritarian military rule (itself installed following ethnic rivalries in […]
Chinese construction companies are behind many of the new buildings going up in Yangon While in Yangon, Myanmar last month, I had a chance to talk with several Myanmarese who naturally asked me where I lived. When I told them I lived in China, what struck me most with their response was their anxiety over […]
When we last left Myanmar in May, former political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League of Democracy supporters joined the country’s parliament, the government of President Thein Sein instituted some democratic forms, and there were high hopes that freedom was on its way. Yet the government waged a bitter guerilla war against […]
History is rife with examples of minority ethnic groups getting the short end of the stick. Such a metaphor glosses over some highly egregious human rights violations, but to go into detail in every such instance would take a long time. However, it is a fact to state that non-titular groups are, at this moment, […]
While the North African revolutions of the past year and a half swept away several long-serving dictators, sadly rulers with an ironclad hold on power remain in various parts of the world. In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen has ruled the country since 1985 and shows no signs of relinquishing power. He is the longest-serving […]
Things are going bad domestically, but at least India’s regional position is improving A regular concern of this blog is the internal constraints on India’s rise as a great power. But for decades the country’s global aspirations also have been encumbered by a quite problematic regional environment. Unlike China, India has had the misfortune […]
In my first article I wrote about the historic election in Myanmar in which the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by former political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, gained seats in parliament for the first time ever. Last week NLD’s elected members took their oaths of office to officially begin serving in parliament (though […]
So the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Myanmar achieved a dramatic victory in recent parliamentary elections. Its polarizing leader, Aung San Suu Kyi (she’s the one on the cell phone in the picture above), will now be part of the government that kept her under house arrest for about 15 years. Reforms introduced by […]
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