Section: The Irrawaddy (Thailand)
The EU-Myanmar IPA Threatens Emerging Democracy
Recently, the press had a field day with the leaked footage of British foreign minister Boris Johnson attempting to recite Rudyard Kipling’s colonial-era Road To Mandalay in the grounds of Shwedagon Paya (it could have been worse). While such gaffes that call to mind the bad old days of colonialism are in bad taste, more pertinent stories...
Language Diversity in Myanmar—A Blessing in Disguise?
My father told me a story that happened to two of his friends on a tram in Warsaw in the 1980s. Both men were from the Podlasie region in northeast Poland and were having a conversation in their local dialect, which is a mixture of Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian. At some point one of the passengers nearby whispered loudly to his neighbor: “Can...
As the World Moves to Renewable Energy, Myanmar Will Follow
YANGON — The government has been pushing plans for coal-fired power plants to address Myanmar’s great need for electricity. Renewable energy expert Hans-Josef Fell talks about how Myanmar can develop its energy plan. Fell is a former parliamentarian in Germany and the current president of the Berlin-based Energy Watch Group. The Myanmar...
Who Are The Wa?
It seems very likely that the United Wa State Army (UWSA) will become the next target of the Myanmar government’s efforts to bring the country under its control. But that does not necessarily mean that the army will launch an all-out offensive against the country’s most heavily armed ethnic army. A more likely scenario, insiders say,...
Ukraine Wants Closer Military Ties with Burma, Expert Says
‘The Ukraine and Burma indeed have intensified their military cooperation recently,’ says Kiev-based military analyst. The post Ukraine Wants Closer Military Ties with Burma, Expert Says appeared first on The Irrawaddy. …read more Source: The...
Desmond Ball Unbound
Professor Desmond Ball, as seen on the Thai-Burma border. (Photo: Phil Thornton) For the past 20 years Professor Ball, an Australian, spent much of his time among Burma’s ethnic people and armed groups. His books include The Ties That Bind, Burma’s Military Secrets and The Boys in Black, about Thailand’s paramilitary border...
Revisiting the Ties That Bind Singapore and Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to the Burmese community living in Singapore on Sept. 22, 2013. (Photo: Edgar Su / Reuters) Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is scheduled to meet with President Htin Kyaw, State Counselor and Foreign Affairs Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, army head Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and speakers of Parliament during his visit...
Sweden Lends Women of Burma Its Support
Women and children take shelter as they flee fighting in Burma’s Kachin State. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) STOCKHOLM, Sweden — The Swedish government says women in Burma can count on its support in furthering gender equality and protecting them from violence over the next four years. Under Sweden’s recently adopted National Action Plan for...
China Limits Coverage, Denounces Panama Papers’ Tax Haven Revelations
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during his meeting with US President Barack Obama at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on March 31, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — China has moved to limit coverage of the massive leak of documents from a Panamanian law firm that may have exposed financial wrongdoing by some of the world’s rich...
Rangoon’s Rare International Cuisines
A vendor sorts sausages at a stand in Vienna, Austria. Similar German sausages are now available at Mahlzeit restaurant in Rangoon. (Photo: Herwig Prammer / Reuters) RANGOON — Asian cuisines from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and India are not considered unconventional among food lovers in Rangoon. But German, Russian and Mediterranean dishes...
