U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Myanmar for the July 3-4 weekend in what turned out to be a major political gamble -- with no discernible results so far.
I remember as a child that whenever the 4th of July rolled around, I would try earnestly to reflect on the significance of the holiday. That is not an...
With an agenda that asks the ruling military junta to open its doors to national "reconciliation", Ban Ki-moon is convinced he can persuade the country's leaders that reforms are for their own good.
We've been horrified by what's happening in Iran. This has been the status quo inside Burma for nearly two decades. What will it take for people to get outraged at this oppression?
To seriously question the Iranians' ownership of their struggle serves the interests of a brutal regime and risks undermining the morale of individuals participating in a true peoples' movement.
The real question is who is responsible for the Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's imprisonment? What can be done about it? What will anyone do?
Burmese monks talk to HuffPost about Suu Kyi's arrest, repression in Burma and the state of the democracy movement about a year and a half after the Saffron Revolution.
"There is nothing to compare with the courage of ordinary people whose names are unknown and whose sacrifices pass unnoticed. The courage that dares w...
Changes are afoot in the way power works in the world. New axes of power are emerging.
No sooner did a major American media outlet in effect pat the junta on the back for signs it was growing a conscience then the junta turned around and arrested one of the world's most beloved women.
Watching the television as the 25 year war in Sri Lanka was announced as having finally reached its dénouement, I was struck again by one of the truly great horrors of life in Asia. The very bad male jet black hair dye job.
Today sovereignty can no longer be a free pass to arbitrarily arrest, torture, rape and kill one's own people. The military junta in Burma should be no exception.
The trial of Burmas pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi opened Monday amid tight security at an infamous jail in the country's main city.
Goodbye to seating inhumane governments and regimes at the human rights table. Hello to removing inhumane governments and regimes at the human rights table.
The Burmese military will not allow proper medical care for their Nobel Peace Prize winner. Aung San Suu Kyi is ill and not doing well.
Watching Burma VJs, it's natural to wonder how best the United States can help. With our motives suspect, it might not be a good idea for us to intervene directly beyond sanctions.
While visiting Japan and Indonesia in February, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admitted that 14 years of U.S. sanctions on Burma have made little impact on its ruling junta.
"Nargis and its aftermath have demonstrated that the policy of isolation and sanctions against the government of Myanmar is counterproductive. It is simply not working."
The junta hopes that by making a token attempt at democracy it can convince the West to ease the sanctions it's imposed on Burma and re-open economic relations.
This student-run nonprofit concert attracts about 2,000 attendees annually and is fast becoming a UCLA tradition.
The Karens actually arrived in Burma before the Burmans, but in the sixteenth century, the Burmans conquered most of Burma and proceeded to impose their will on the ethnics.
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Whats worse UK or US foreign policy and/or meddling.
CIA or M15 assasinations and funding of groups to cause terror.
Its hard to say whos worse or which leaders meddle to help ensure peace, or just meddle because they have agendas of their own.
e.g The corresponence to stage false flags to start a war, which is treason. It happened, and as time goes on will happen again. That is the sole function of the CIA and M15, with their leaders who are always kept in the loop.
Any leader involved in corruption, should be kicked out immediately, and not be allowed to tell others how they should perform.
Remind us which imperial power previously ran Burma to set up the mess? Most important, let's keep the Western imperialists out of the way. We could hold up models of Western intervention and/or sanctions to free the people, like: Iraq, Sudan, Cuba, Palestine, Rhodesia.......... It has worked so well, let's keep doing it.
I hope that the British people would appreciate you more, Gordon Brown.
Not, John Major or Margaret Thatcher or any Tories, have done anything of conscious courage, for the Tweny First Century. Nor laid the groundwork. It was more patriotic convictions - that lead to wars, wars and more wars. Oh yeah, and "acting" tough.
Thank You.
Do you not think judgment of our British Prime Minister is for the people of Britain to decide? We have, after all, had 12.5 years to make up our minds.
Thatcher and Major were 20th century Prime Ministers, DietrichMoody.
UK has not had any Conservative Prime Ministers during the 21st century - yet - so your comment is rather nonsensical.
As for wars, wars, wars being due to patriotism, in the case of World War 2 that is again untrue. We British were forced to go to war - under our greatest Prime Minister and greatest example of Prime Ministerial courage ever, the Conservative PM, Winston Churchill - after Hitler's Nazis invaded Europe, threatened to invade England, began their nightmare holocaust against the Jews and began a wicked and relentless bombing campaign of England which brutally murdered 60,000 British civilians.
I'm afraid there are times when war is regretfully unavoidable, defending your country against the invasion threat and brutal bombing campaign of and evil Nazi is one of them.
Until the international community are ready to confront China, nothing will change in Burma. China provides the weapons that the SPDC use in their ethnic genocides and the torture techniques they use on their political prisoners. Why should the SPDC change when they have plenty of trading partners?
Would you say the same about Cambodia and Vietnam? Did sanctions work? Instead, when the West quit trying to force their policies and simply opened trade and interchange, life improved for the people. When they really have plenty of trading partners, life will improve. Don't buy this "International community" bunk.
It's interesting that the UN is trying a new tack, but there isn't any good reason to believe that there will be a change of heart here unless Moon has some new bargaining chip like, say, the the force of the PRC behind him. The international community has been calling for change for years now; I don't see how doing it in person is going to make any difference. Thus, I hardly see why this "chance for a new beginning" is being touted when that chance is almost certainly insignificant.
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