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Reform in Myanmar: One Year On
Update Briefing Asia Briefing N°136 Jakarta/Brussels, 11 April 2012 Reform in Myanmar: One Year On mar hosts the South East Asia Games in 2013 and takes I. OVERVIEW over the chairmanship of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2014. One year into the new semi-civilian government, Myanmar has implemented a wide-ranging set of reforms as it em- Reforming the economy is another major issue. While vital barks on a remarkable top-down transition from five dec- and long overdue, there is a risk that making major policy ades of authoritarian rule. In an address to the nation on 1 changes in a context of unreliable data and weak econom- March 2012 marking his first year in office, President Thein ic institutions could create unintended economic shocks. Sein made clear that the goal was to introduce “genuine Given the high levels of impoverishment and vulnerabil- democracy” and that there was still much more to be done. ity, even a relatively minor shock has the potential to have This ambitious agenda includes further democratic reform, a major impact on livelihoods. At a time when expectations healing bitter wounds of the past, rebuilding the economy are running high, and authoritarian controls on the popu- and ensuring the rule of law, as well as respecting ethnic lation have been loosened, there would be a potential for diversity and equality. The changes are real, but the chal- unrest. lenges are complex and numerous. To consolidate and build on what has been achieved and increase the likeli- A third challenge is consolidating peace in ethnic areas. -
Aung San Suu Kyi (1945- )
Aung San Suu Kyi (1945 - ) Major Events in the Life of a Revolutionary Leader All terms appearing in bold are included in the glossary. 1945 On June 19 in Rangoon (now called Yangon), the capital city of Burma (now called Myanmar), Aung San Suu Kyi was born the third child and only daughter to Aung San, national hero and leader of the Burma Independence Army (BIA) and the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL), and Daw Khin Kyi, a nurse at Rangoon General Hospital. Aung San Suu Kyi was born into a country with a complex history of colonial domination that began late in the nineteenth century. After a series of wars between Burma and Great Britain, Burma was conquered by the British and annexed to British India in 1885. At first, the Burmese were afforded few rights and given no political autonomy under the British, but by 1923 Burmese nationals were permitted to hold select government offices. In 1935, the British separated Burma from India, giving the country its own constitution, an elected assembly of Burmese nationals, and some measure of self-governance. In 1941, expansionist ambitions led the Japanese to invade Burma, where they defeated the British and overthrew their colonial administration. While at first the Japanese were welcomed as liberators, under their rule more oppressive policies were instituted than under the British, precipitating resistance from Burmese nationalist groups like the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL). In 1945, Allied forces drove the Japanese out of Burma and Britain resumed control over the country. 1947 Aung San negotiated the full independence of Burma from British control. -
Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Polina Lenkova
Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Polina Lenkova December 2015 Inside front cover Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Polina Lenkova December 2015 About the researcher Polina Lenkova is a research fellow at Thabyay Education Foundation. She holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University, Washington, D.C. About Thabyay Education Foundation Founded in 1996, Thabyay Education Foundation educates, develops, connects and empowers individuals and organizations in Myanmar to become positive, impactful change-makers. We seek to achieve this through knowledge creation, innovative learning and guided skills expansion, as well as by forging connections to networks, information and opportunities. Acknowledgements The author would like to express her gratitude to everyone who participated in and assisted her during this research. Particularly, the author would like to thank the following people and organizations for providing assistance and suggestions during field research: Tim Schroeder, Saw San Myint Kyi, Saw Eh Say, Hsa Thoolei School, Taungalay Monastery, as well as Thabyay Education Foundation staff Hsa Blu Paw, Cleo Praisathitsawat and U Soe Lay. Furthermore, the author also thanks Tim Schroeder, Kim Joliffe and Saw Kapi for report review and feedback. Design and layout: Katherine Gibney | www.accurateyak.carbonmade.com Note on the text All web links in the report’s footnotes were correct and functioning as of 1 December 2015. 4 Conflict Sensitivity in Education Provision in Karen State Contents Acronyms and Glossary 6 Executive Summary 7 1. Introduction: Defining Conflict Sensitivity in Education 10 2. Objectives and Methodology 11 3. -
U.S. Relations with Burma: Key Issues in 2019
Updated May 8, 2019 U.S. Relations with Burma: Key Issues in 2019 In 2018, the 115th Congress was generally critical of the Figure 1. Map of Burma (Myanmar) Trump Administration’s Burma policy, particularly its limited response to atrocities committed by the Burmese military, intensifying conflict with ethnic insurgencies, and rising concerns about political repression and civil rights. In December 2018, Congress passed the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-409), which prohibits funding for International Military Education and Training (IMET) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF) Program in Burma for fiscal years 2019 through 2023. Major Developments in Burma At the end of 2018, an estimated one million Rohingya, most of whom fled atrocities committed by Burma’s military (Tatmadaw) in late 2017, remained in refugee camps in Bangladesh, unable and unwilling to return to Burma’s Rakhine State given the current policies of the Burmese government. Also in 2018, fighting between Burma’s military and various ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) escalated in Kachin and Shan States, and spread into Chin, Karen (Kayin), and Rakhine States, while efforts to negotiate a nationwide ceasefire stalled. The Rohingya Crises Continue More than 700,000 Sunni Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in late 2017, seeking to escape Tatmadaw forces that destroyed almost 400 Rohingya villages, killed at least 6,700 Rohingya (according to human rights groups and Doctors Without Borders), and sexually assaulted hundreds of Rohingya women and girls. Repatriation under an October 2018 agreement between the two nations is stalled as the Burmese government is unable or unwilling to Source: CRS establish conditions that would allow the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of the Rohingya. -
Out of the Ord Ary Tours for Everyone
Explore Asia 2016 - 2017 Out of the ordary Tours for everyone Great Outdoors · Local Customs · Charming Hospitality · Traditional Cooking · Stimulating Art · Intriguing Architecture 2 map asia & content introduction 3 1 Discover the home of the Padaung >> pages 4–5 CHINA Shanghai 2 West Sumatra – The Highlands and Mekong (Lancang) River the Sea 8 Chengdu >> pages 6–7 Xiamen 3 Local Immersions in Lak >> pages 8–9 MYANMAR Mandalay OUT OF THE OR DINA RY LAOS philippine sea 4 Rural Glamping by Jeep to Banteay Luang Prabang TOURS FOR EV ERYONE Hanoi Ampil 1 5 >> pages 10–11 Padaung Yangon Our programmes take individuals 5 A culinary journey through Laos and small groups in an exciting new THAILAND vietnam >> pages 12–13 4 travel direction and provide unique, Banteay Ampil Bangkok south out of the ordinary experiences. 3 Lak 6 The Hidden Trails of Phuket china CAMBODIA sea >> pages 14–15 Ho Chi Our guests can achieve a truly Minh City authentic and sustainable travel 7 Authentic Sarawak 6 experience in the great, wide Phuket >> pages 16–17 outdoors. We cater for those with a passion for indigenous customs 8 Sichuan Exploration MALAYSIA and culture; charming hospitality; Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA >> page 18–19 Sarawak 7 flavoursome and traditional 2 cooking; stimulating ethnic art; and indian ocean Padang intriguing architecture. INDONESIA INDONESIA come explore with us. Jakarta 8 Bali Lombok 4 myanmar • 2016 - 2017 myanmar • 2016 - 2017 5 1 · Inle Sagar Pagodas 2 · Village in mountain landscape 3 · Kalaw Market Discover the home of the Padaung 4 · Taung Kwe Zedi 5 · Long Neck Padaung Highlights › Visit Loikaw, the capital of Kayah State, and experience a wealth of fascinating cultural sites › Learn more about the unique “long neck” Padaung women › Explore untouched country side and interact with Kayan tribespeople in a verdant tropical landscape Loikaw, the capital of Kayah State, day 1, Inle Lake – Loikaw local life and customs is to visit a Myanmar’s most famous hill stations. -
Burma's Long Road to Democracy
UNITED STATES InsTITUTE OF PEACE www.usip.org SPECIAL REPORT 1200 17th Street NW • Washington, DC 20036 • 202.457.1700 • fax 202.429.6063 ABOUT THE REPORT Priscilla Clapp A career officer in the U.S. Foreign Service, Priscilla Clapp served as U.S. chargé d’affaires and chief of mission in Burma (Myanmar) from June 1999 to August 2002. After retiring from the Foreign Service, she has continued to Burma’s Long Road follow events in Burma closely and wrote a paper for the United States Institute of Peace entitled “Building Democracy in Burma,” published on the Institute’s Web site in July 2007 as Working Paper 2. In this Special to Democracy Report, the author draws heavily on her Working Paper to establish the historical context for the Saffron Revolution, explain the persistence of military rule in Burma, Summary and speculate on the country’s prospects for political transition to democracy. For more detail, particularly on • In August and September 2007, nearly twenty years after the 1988 popular uprising the task of building the institutions for stable democracy in Burma, public anger at the government’s economic policies once again spilled in Burma, see Working Paper 2 at www.usip.org. This into the country’s city streets in the form of mass protests. When tens of thousands project was directed by Eugene Martin, and sponsored by of Buddhist monks joined the protests, the military regime reacted with brute force, the Institute’s Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention. beating, killing, and jailing thousands of people. Although the Saffron Revolution was put down, the regime still faces serious opposition and unrest. -
Recognition and Rebel Authority: Elite-Grassroots Relations in Myanmar’S Ethnic Insurgencies
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Goldsmiths Research Online Manuscript submission to Contemporary Politics - Original Article Title: Recognition and Rebel Authority: Elite-Grassroots Relations in Myanmar’s Ethnic Insurgencies Author: David Brenner: [email protected] Lecturer in International Relations Department of Politics University of Surrey Guildford, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom Research Associate Global South Unit Department of International Relations The London School of Economics (LSE) Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom Recognition and Rebel Authority: Elite-Grassroots Relations in Myanmar’s Ethnic Insurgencies ABSTRACT: This article contributes to the emerging scholarship on the internal politics of non-state armed groups and rebel governance by asking how rival rebel leaders capture and lose legitimacy within their own movement. It explores this question by drawing on critical social theory and ethnographic field research on Myanmar’s most important ethnic armed groups: the Karen and Kachin insurgencies. The article finds that authority relations between elites and grassroots in these movements are not primarily linked to the distributional outcomes of their insurgent social orders, as a contractualist understanding of rebel governance would suggest. It is argued that the authority of rebel leaders in both analysed movements rather depends on whether they address their grassroots’ claim to due and proper recognition, enabling the latter to derive self-perceived positive social identities through affiliation to the insurgent collective. This contributes to our understanding of the role that authority relations between differently situated elite and non-elite insurgents play in the factional contestation within rebel movements. -
Competing Forms of Sovereignty in the Karen State of Myanmar
Competing forms of sovereignty in the Karen state of Myanmar ISEAS Working Paper #1 2013 By: Su-Ann Oh1 Email: [email protected] Visiting Research Fellow Regional Economic Studies Programme Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 1 The ISEAS Working Paper Series is published electronically by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. © Copyright is held by the author or authors of each Working Paper. Papers in this series are preliminary in nature and are intended to stimulate discussion and critical comment. The Editorial Committee accepts no responsibility for facts presented and views expressed, which rests exclusively with the individual author or authors. No part of this publication may be produced in any form without permission. Comments are welcomed and may be sent to the author(s) Citations of this electronic publication should be made in the following manner: Author(s), “Title,” ISEAS Working Paper on “…”, No. #, Date, www.iseas.edu.sg Working Paper Editorial Committee Lee Hock Guan (editor) Terence Chong Lee Poh Onn Tin Maung Maung Than Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 30, Heng Mui Keng Terrace Pasir Panjang Singapore 119614 Main Tel: (65) 6778 0955 Main Fax: (65) 6778 1735 Homepage: www.iseas.edu.sg Introduction The Thai-Burmese border, represented by an innocuous line on a map, is more than a marker of geographical space. It articulates the territorial limits of sovereignty2 and represents the ideology behind the doctrine of modern nation-states. Accordingly, every political state must have a definite territorial boundary which corresponds with differences of culture and language. Moreover, territorial sovereignty is absolute, indivisible and mutually exclusive, as set out by the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia. -
Dooplaya Situation Update: Kawkareik Township, January to October 2016
Situation Update July 18, 2017 / KHRG # 16-92-S1 Dooplaya Situation Update: Kawkareik Township, January to October 2016 This Situation Update describes events occurring in Kawkareik Township, Dooplaya District during the period between January and October 2016, and includes issues regarding army base locations, rape, drugs, villagers’ livelihood, military activities, refugee concerns, development, education, healthcare, land and taxation. • In the last two months, a Burmese man from A--- village raped and killed a 17-year-old girl. The man was arrested and was sent to Tatmadaw military police. The man who committed the rape was also under the influence of drugs. • Drug abuse has been recognised as an ongoing issue in Dooplaya District. Leaders and officials have tried to eliminate drugs, but the drug issue remains. • Refugees from Noh Poe refugee camp in Thailand are concerned that they will face difficulties if they return to Burma/Myanmar because Bo San Aung’s group (DKBA splinter group) started fighting with BGF and Tatmadaw when the refugees were preparing for their return to Burma/Myanmar. The ongoing fighting will cause problems for refugees if they return. Local people residing in Burma/Myanmar are also worried for refugees if they return because fighting could break out at any time. • There are many different armed groups in Dooplaya District who collect taxes. A local farmer reported that he had to pay a rice tax to many different armed groups, which left him with little money after. Situation Update | Kawkareik Township, Dooplaya District (January to October 2016) The following Situation Update was received by KHRG in November 2016. -
Karen Community Consultation Report
Karen Community Consultation report 28th March 2009 Granville Town Hall Acknowledgements The Karen community consultation report was first compiled in June 2009 by the working group comprising of, Rhianon Partridge, Wah Wah Naw, Daniel Zu, Lina Ishu and Gary Cachia, with additional input provided by Jasmina Bajraktarevic Hayward This report and consultation was made possible by the relationships developed between STARTTS and the Karen community in Sydney and in particular with the Australian Karen Organisation. Special thanks to all people who participated in the consultation A copyright for this report belongs to STARTTS. Parts of the report may be reused for educational and non profit purposes without permission of STARTTS provided the report is adequately sourced. The report may be distributed electronically without permission. For further information or permissions please contact STARTTS on 02 97941900 STARTTS Karen Community Consultation Report Page 2 of 48 Contents Karen Information ........................................................................................................ 4 • Some of the history .............................................................................................. 4 • Persecution Past and Present ................................................................................ 7 • Demographics .................................................................................................... 13 • Karen Cultural information ............................................................................... -
Transnational Ethnic Communities and Rebel Groups' Strategies in a Civil Conflict
Transnational Ethnic Communities and Rebel Groups’ Strategies in a Civil Conflict The case of the Karen National Union rebellion in Myanmar Bethsabée Souris University College London (UCL) 2020 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science I, Bethsabée Souris, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis 1 2 Abstract Few studies have systematically analysed how transnational ethnic kin groups affect the behaviour of domestic ethnic groups in an insurgency, in particular how they have an effect on the types of activities they conduct and their targets. The research question of this study is: What are the mechanisms through which transnational ethnic kin groups influence the domestic rebel ethnic group’s strategies? This thesis analyses the influence of transnational communities on domestic challengers to the state as a two-step process. First, it investigates under which conditions transnational ethnic kin groups provide political and economic support to the rebel ethnic group. It shows that networks between rebel groups and transnational communities, which can enable the diffusion of the rebel group’s conflict frames, are key to ensure transnational support. Second, it examines how such transnational support can influence rebel groups’ strategies. It shows that central to our understanding of rebel groups’ strategies is the cohesion (or lack thereof) of the rebel group. Furthermore, it identifies two sources of rebel group’s fragmentation: the state counter-insurgency strategies, and transnational support. The interaction of these two factors can contribute to the fragmentation of the group and in turn to a shift in the strategies it conducts. -
3 Sides to Every Story
33 SSIDES TO EEVERY SSTORY A PROFILE OF MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN THE REFUGEE CAMPS ON THE THAILAND BURMA BORDER THAILAND BURMA BORDER CONSORTIUM JULY 2010 Note on the Title: The “three sides” refers to the three self-identified sectors of Muslim communities in the camps, defined by the reasons for their presence in the camps (see “Muslim Lifestyle Practices and Preferences/ Socio-Cultural/ Self-identity”). Cover design: http://library.wustl.edu/subjects/islamic/MihrabIsfahan.jpg 2 33 SSIDES TO EEVERY SSTORY A PROFILE OF MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN THE REFUGEE CAMPS ON THE THAILAND BURMA BORDER THAILAND BURMA BORDER CONSORTIUM JULY 2010 3 CONTENTS PAGE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ……….......………………………………………………….……………………………. 7 SUMMARY OF STATISTICS BY RELIGION/CAMP ……………………………………………………………....... 9 PREFACE ……….......………………………………………………….……………………………………… 13 BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION OF ISLAM TO BURMA ………………………………………………………………………...... 15 DISPLACEMENT OF BURMESE MUSLIM COMMUNITIES INTO THAILAND ……..……………………………………… 15 Border-wide Camp-Specific Other Influxes CURRENT SITUATION PREVALENCE OF MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN AND AROUND THE REFUGEE CAMPS ……..……………………. 19 Muslim Communities in Camps Muslim Communities Around the Camps Impacts on Camp Security LIFESTYLE PRACTICES AND PREFERENCES: SOCIO-CULTURAL: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 21 o The “Three Sides” o Religion and Faith o Gender Roles o Romance, Marriage and Divorce o Social Inclusion FOOD AND SHELTER: ………….…...………………..…………………………….…………………….. 29 o Ration Collection/ Consumption o Ration/ Diet Supplementation