Far and Away: Reporting From the Brink of Change

by Solomon, Andrew

  443 The initial US relaxation of sanctions against Burma is reported in Karen De Young, “Ban on U.S. investment in Burma is lifted,” Washington Post, July 11, 2012.

  444 Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest is reported in Tracy McVeigh, “Aung San Suu Kyi ‘released from house arrest,’ ” Guardian, November 13, 2010; the NLD’s victory in the 2012 general elections, in Esmer Golluoglu, “Aung San Suu Kyi hails ‘new era’ for Burma after landslide victory,” Guardian, April 2, 2012.

  445 Paradoxically, at least one Burmese commentator regarded Ma Thida’s early release from prison as a cynical PR ploy on the part of the military junta; see Aung Zaw, “The SPDC’s diplomatic gambit,” Irrawaddy, February 1999.

  446 Aung San Suu Kyi, op. cit.

  446 The artist Aye Ko discusses his work in Whitney Light, “Pressing questions with Aye Ko,” Myanmar Times, May 18, 2014.

  446 Lu Maw and his brother, the late Par Par Lay, were imprisoned after a performance by their comedy troupe in 1996; see Philip Heijmans, “Skirting comedy limits in Myanmar,” New York Times, July 29, 2015.

  446 In addition to his role as mayor, Ko Min Latt is also editor of the Mon-language newspaper Than Lwin Times; see Banyar Kong Janoi, “Pushing for ethnic language media in a changing Burma,” Asia Calling, November 10, 2012.

  446 Moe Satt, too, has aroused official suspicion of his art; see Hillary Luong, “Artists detained by Myanmar police,” Art Asia Pacific, June 8, 2012.

  447 Nay Phone Latt’s journalistic bravery earned him a place on Time magazine’s 2010 Time 100 roster; see Salman Rushdie, “Heroes: Nay Phone Latt,” Time, April 29, 2010. For a recent interview, see “Nay Phone Latt speaks,” Myanmar Times, March 3, 2014.

  447 Thant Myint-U, grandson of former UN secretary-general U Thant, is a prolific author on political topics and chairman of Yangon Heritage Trust, which seeks to document the history of historical architecture, establish zoning laws, and preserve urban architecture in Yangon; the organization’s website is at http://yangonheritagetrust.org.

  447 For a recent article featuring Sammy Samuels, see Joe Freeman, “Myanmar’s Jewish vote,” Tablet, November 9, 2015. Sammy Samuels’s travel agency, Myanmar Shalom, can be found online at http://myanmarshalom.com.

  448 The dramatic expansion of the mobile-phone industry in Myanmar is discussed in Jason Motlagh, “When a SIM card goes from $2,000 to $1.50,” Bloomberg Business, September 29, 2014; Michael Tan, “One million SIM cards sold in Myanmar,” CNET, October 2, 2014; and Jared Ferrie, “SIM sales soar as Myanmar races to catch up in telecoms,” Reuters, May 6, 2015.

  448 Responding to safety concerns, Myanmar has recently passed legislation requiring left-hand drive on new car imports; see Kyaw Hsu Mon, “Govt to push left-hand steering wheels on future car imports,” Irrawaddy, November 25, 2014; and Aye Nyein Win, “Right-hand drives to remain on the roads,” Myanmar Times, October 23, 2015.

  449 Statistics on child nutrition in Myanmar come from UNICEF, “Country statistics: Myanmar,” UNICEF, 2015.

  450 For a detailed analysis of the contribution of tourism to Myanmar’s economy, see Rochelle Turner et al., “Travel and tourism: Economic impact 2015: Myanmar,” World Travel and Tourism Council, 2015.

  450 More background on Burmese history can be found in Michael Aung-Thwin and Maitrii Aung-Thwin, A History of Myanmar since Ancient Times (2012).

  451 For more detail on the 1988 student uprisings, see British Broadcasting Corporation, “Burma’s 1988 protests,” BBC News, September 25, 2007; and Rodion Ebbighausen, “Myanmar: The uprising of 1988,” Deutsche Welle, August 8, 2013.

  452 Full text of the “Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2008)” can be found on the website of the World Intellectual Property Organization, http://wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/mm/mm009en.pdf. For discussion of the constitution’s problematic aspects and efforts to reform it, see Thomas Fuller, “Myanmar’s leader backs change to constitution,” New York Times, January 2, 2014; Jared Ferrie, “Myanmar president enacts law allowing referendum on disputed constitution,” Reuters, February 12, 2015; and Thomas Fuller, “Myanmar’s military uses political force to block constitutional changes,” New York Times, June 15, 2015.

  453 The homesickness of Burmese refugees is described in Julia Lyon, “Invited to escape to America, some refugees just say no,” St. Louis Tribune, September 14, 2009; and Ron Corben, “Burmese refugees in Thailand long to return home,” Deutsche Welle, December 13, 2011.

  453 Among dissidents demanding an apology from their former captors is Win Tin; see Kyaw Phyo Tha, “Ex–political prisoner Win Tin demands apology from junta leaders,” Irrawaddy, October 30, 2013.

  453 See Aung San Suu Kyi, The Voice of Hope: Conversations with Alan Clements (2008).

  453 Myanmar’s low-occupancy capital is described in Matt Kennard and Claire Provost, “The lights are on but no one’s home in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw,” Guardian, March 19, 2015; and Katie Amey, “Government-issued housing, super-highways that span 20 lanes but not a soul in sight: Inside Myanmar’s haunting capital city,” Daily Mail, April 18, 2015.

  454 See US Department of State, “U.S. economic engagement with Burma,” US Embassy in Rangoon, June 2014.

  454 Although many Burmese professionals have removed to Singapore, the tide is slowly turning; see Kyaw Zwa Moe, “Burmese professionals earn good money in Singapore but still miss home,” Irrawaddy, March 2007; and Joanna Seow, “More Myanmar professionals in Singapore heading home to tap booming economy,” Straits Times, March 24, 2014.

  455 Shwe Mann’s pragmatic alliance with Aung San Suu Kyi engendered misgivings among his fellow USDP members, including President Thein Sein, who staged Mann’s dramatic ouster from his role as head of the party; see Thomas Fuller, “Conservatives in Myanmar force out leader of ruling party,” New York Times, August 13, 2015; British Broadcasting Corporation, “Aung San Suu Kyi hails Shwe Mann as an ‘ally,’ ” BBC News, August 18, 2015; and Hnin Yadana Zaw and Antoni Slodkowski, “Myanmar’s ousted ruling party head to work with Suu Kyi,” Reuters, November 5, 2015.

  455 See the highly regarded biography by Peter Popham, The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi (2012).

  456 Aung San Suu Kyi’s Nobel Lecture can be found on the Nobel Prize website at http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1991/kyi-lecture_en.html.

  456 See previously cited sources on the Burmese constitution: Fuller (2014 and 2015), op. cit., and Ferrie, op. cit.

  457 Robert San Pe discusses constitutional reform in the twenty-four-minute video “Legal adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, Robert Pe,” Reliefweb Labs, May 5, 2015.

  457 Donors to Myanmar’s fledgling Parliamentary Library include Canada, the United States, and the Asia Foundation; see “Baird bears gifts,” Mizzima, March 9, 2012; Malaysian Myanmar Business Council, “U.S. contributes publications to parliamentary library,” October 24, 2012; and Asia Foundation, “The Asia Foundation donates books to parliamentary library in Burma,” October 24, 2012.

  457 For discussion of the impact and dynamics of Nargis, see Michael Casey, “Why the cyclone in Myanmar was so deadly,” National Geographic News, May 8, 2008.

  458 Consul General Ye Myint Aung’s outrageous statement appeared in a letter dated February 9, 2009 (available online at http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/the-consul-generals-letter.pdf), and was originally reported in Greg Torode, “Myanmese envoy says Rohingya ugly as ogres,” South China Morning Post, February 11, 2009.

  458 For the Myanmar government’s interpretation of the history of its Muslim population, see Republic of the Union of Myanmar, “Final report of inquiry commission on sectarian violence in Rakhine State,” July 8, 2013.

  459 Several NGOs have prepared overviews of the history of the Rohingya; see, e.g., Euro-Burma Office, “The Rohingyas: Bengali Muslims or Arakan Rohingyas?” EBO Briefing Paper No. 2, Euro-Burma Office, 2009; and Eliane Coates, “Sectarian violence involving
Rohingya in Myanmar: Historical roots and modern triggers,” Middle East Institute, August 4, 2014.

  460 Speculation that the Rohingya have links with terrorist groups is disputed by security experts and Burmese parliamentarians; see Paul Vrieze, “Experts reject claims of ‘Rohingya mujahideen’ insurgency,” Irrawaddy, July 15, 2013.

  460 Human Rights Watch has documented the persecution of Rohingya in Matthew Smith et al., “ ‘All you can do is pray’: Crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma’s Arakan State,” Human Rights Watch, April 2013.

  460 Ashin Wirathu’s sermon that is thought to have provoked the massacre of Rohingya at Meiktila can be viewed online at “Anti Muslim monk Wira thu talk about Meiktila before riot,” YouTube, March 24, 2013; a summary translation is available at Maung Zarni, “Racist leader monk Rev. Wirathu’s speech,” M-Media, March 24, 2013. Wirathu’s exhortation to “rise up” and “make your blood boil” was quoted in Hannah Beech, “The face of Buddhist terror,” Time, July 1, 2013. The quote from the pamphlet distributed at one of Ashin Wirathu’s sermons appears in Thomas Fuller, “Extremism rises among Myanmar Buddhists,” New York Times, June 20, 2013. Wirathu is compared to Hitler in Sarah Kaplan, “The serene-looking Buddhist monk accused of inciting Burma’s sectarian violence,” Washington Post, May 27, 2015.

  461 See Yassin Musharbash, “The ‘Talibanization’ of Pakistan: Islamists destroy Buddhist statue,” Der Spiegel, November 8, 2007.

  461 The term “savage Buddhists” is cited in Jonathan Pearlman, “Jihadist group calls on Muslims to save Burmese migrants from ‘savage Buddhists,’ ” Telegraph, May 20, 2015.

  462 The Rohingyas’ flight from Myanmar is documented in David Mathieson, “Perilous plight: Burma’s Rohingya take to the seas,” Human Rights Watch, 2009.

  462 Suu Kyi’s silence on the Rohingya issue has been widely noted; see, e.g., Moshahida Sultana Ritu, “Ethnic cleansing in Myanmar,” New York Times, July 12, 2012; and Charlie Campbell, “Arakan strife poses Suu Kyi political problem,” Irrawaddy, July 13, 2012.

  462 Tensions between Arakanese Buddhists and foreign aid workers are described in Lawi Weng, “Arakan monks boycott UN, INGOs,” Irrawaddy, July 6, 2012.

  462 The 2014 Mandalay riots were reported in “Five injured in Mandalay unrest, damage limited,” Irrawaddy, July 2, 2014.

  463 For a scholarly discussion of the variety of Muslims residing in Myanmar, see Khin Maung Yin, “Salience of ethnicity among Burman Muslims: A study in identity formation,” Intellectual Discourse 13, no. 2 (2005).

  465 For more information on the tattooed women of Chin state, see Sarah Boesveld, “Stealing beauty: A look at the tattooed faces of Burma’s Chin province,” National Post, July 15, 2011.

  466 The number of monks in Myanmar is put at four hundred thousand to five hundred thousand in Sarah Buckley, “Who are Burma’s monks?” BBC News, September 26, 2007.

  467 The history of Jewish migration to and from South Asia is explored in Nathan Katz and Ellen S. Goldberg, “The last Jews in India and Burma,” Jerusalem Letter, April 15, 1988.

  467 Moses Samuels died on May 29, 2015; see Jonathan Zaiman, “Remembering Moses Samuels, the man who preserved Jewry in Myanmar,” Tablet, June 2, 2015.

  468 Moses Samuels himself stated, “There is no problem with religion here”; see Seth Mydans, “Yangon Journal; Burmese Jew shoulders burden of his heritage,” New York Times, July 23, 2002. Also, see a touching remembrance of Moses Samuels and an account of Myanmar’s Jewish community: Sammy Samuels, “Hanukkah with spirit in Yangon,” BBC News, December 4, 2015.

  468 The outcome of cease-fire negotiations with armed rebel groups in Myanmar is reported in Shibani Mahtani and Myo Myo, “Myanmar signs draft peace deal with armed ethnic groups,” Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2015.

  468 For more background on the remnants of the Kuomintang in Myanmar, see Denis D. Gray, “The remaining veterans of China’s ‘lost army’ cling to old life styles in Thailand,” Los Angeles Times, June 7, 1987.

  469 Mong La’s National Democratic Alliance and its leader, Sai Leun, figure in Michael Black and Roland Fields, “Virtual gambling in Myanmar’s drug country,” Asia Times, August 26, 2006; and Sebastian Strangio, “Myanmar’s wildlife trafficking hotspot,” Al Jazeera, June 17, 2014.

  469 Kachin state’s lucrative jade industry is investigated in Andrew Marshall, “Myanmar old guard clings to $8 billion jade empire,” Reuters, October 1, 2013. The escalating death toll in a landslide at a jadeite mine is reported in Kyaw Myo Min, Kyaw Kyaw Aung, and Khin Khin Ei, “Hopes fade for Myanmar landslide survivors as lawmakers urge greater safety for miners,” Radio Free Asia, November 24, 2015.

  471 Thant Thaw Kaung’s story is told in Mary O’Shea, “Journey of shelf discovery,” Post Magazine, October 14, 2012.

  473 Htein Lin’s life and work are the subjects of Thomas Fuller, “Back to a Burmese prison by choice,” New York Times, December 6, 2014.

  475 Htein Lin’s project, A Show of Hand, is described on his website, at http://hteinlin.com/a-show-of-hand; and in Kyaw Phyo Tha, “Hands of hardship; Artist Htein Lin spotlights political prisoners’ travails,” Irrawaddy, July 27, 2015.

  475 The work of Wah Nu and Tun Win Aung is discussed in Mike Ives, “Culling Myanmar’s past for memories,” New York Times, October 16, 2013; and Susan Kendzulak, “Burma’s flying circus,” Art Radar, October 18, 2013.

  476 Maung Tin Thit (also known as U Ye Mon) won a seat in the Hluttaw (the legislative assembly) in the 2015 general elections; see Pyae Thet Phyo, “Ex-minister’s agent denies seeking recount,” Myanmar Times, November 12, 2015.

  476 Ma Thanegi, Nor Iron Bars a Cage (2013).

  476 Ma Thanegi articulated her opposition to sanctions in “The Burmese fairy tale,” Far Eastern Economic Review, February 19, 1998.

  478 Misuu Borit’s efforts to reestablish the Burmese cat in its native land are recounted in Kelly McNamara, “Burmese cats return to a new Burma,” Bangkok Post, September 14, 2012; and Kyaw Phyo Tha, “A purr-fect pedigree in Burma,” Irrawaddy, February 24, 2014.

  479 Figures on tourism in Myanmar come from Turner et al., op. cit.

  479 The convicted Unity Journal staffers remain in prison; see San Yamin Aung, “Supreme Court rejects appeal of Unity journalists,” Irrawaddy, November 27, 2014.

  479 Charges against some protesters were eventually dropped; see “Charges dropped against 23 journalists,” Nation (Bangkok), August 25, 2014.

  479 The death of Aung Kyaw Naing (Par Gyi) in police custody is reported in Lawi Weng, Nyein Nyein, and Kyaw Hsu Mon, “Missing reporter killed in custody of Burma army,” Irrawaddy, October 24, 2014. On the aftermath of the event, see British Broadcasting Corporation, “Myanmar court ‘must investigate Aung Kyaw Naing death,’ ” BBC News, December 3, 2014.

  479 Zaw Pe’s conviction for “trespassing” while investigating a scholarship program is described in Zarni Mann, “DVB reporter jailed for one year,” Irrawaddy, April 7, 2014.

  479 The conviction and sentencing of the Bi Mon Te Nay staffers is reported in Nobel Zaw, “Court sentences 3 journalists, 2 media owners to 2 years in prison,” Irrawaddy, October 16, 2014.

  479 Htin Kyaw’s arrest and conviction are the subject of Nobel Zaw, “Activist hit with additional sentence, totaling over 13 years,” Irrawaddy, October 31, 2014.

  479 Press freedom rankings come from Reporters Without Borders’s annual World Press Freedom Index, 2015, at http://index.rsf.org.

  480 The quotes from Yanghee Lee (“to criminalize and impede,” “disproportionately high”) come from Yanghee Lee, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on situation of human rights in Myanmar,” United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, September 23, 2014.

  480 The increasingly desperate plight of the Rohingya people is described in Rishi Iyengaar, “Burma’s million-strong Rohingya population faces ‘final stages of genocide,’ says report,” Time, October 28, 2015; and Penny Green, T
homas MacManus, and Alicia de la Cour Venning, “Countdown to annihilation: Genocide in Myanmar,” International State Crime Initiative, 2015.

  481 The 969 movement is the subject of Andrew Marshall’s reports “The 969 catechism,” Reuters, June 26, 2013; and “Myanmar gives official blessing to anti-Muslim monks,” Reuters, June 27, 2013. For discussion of the Ma Ba Tha political party, see Annie Gowen, “Hard-line Buddhist monks threaten Burma’s hopes for democracy,” Washington Post, November 5, 2015.

  481 The pending lawsuit against Burmese president Thein Sein is discussed in Agence France-Presse, “Muslim groups sue Myanmar president for Rohingya ‘genocide,’ ” Guardian, October 5, 2015.

  481 The National League for Democracy’s election victory is reported in Oliver Holmes, “Aung San Suu Kyi wins outright majority in Myanmar election,” Guardian, November 13, 2015. U Win Htein’s postelection comments on Muslims in Burma are drawn from Austin Ramzy, “After Myanmar election, few signs of a better life for Muslims,” New York Times, November 18, 2015.

  481 The expansion of the Myanmar press, and its simultaneous suppression by the government, is the subject of Julie Makinen, “Myanmar press freedom: Unprecedented but still subject to pressures,” Los Angeles Times, March 27, 2015; Paul Mooney, “Jail, lawsuits cast shadow over Myanmar media freedom,” Reuters, May 15, 2014; and Amnesty International, “Caught between state censorship and self-censorship: Prosecution and intimidation of media workers in Myanmar,” Amnesty International, June 16, 2015.

  482 The military’s constitutionally enshrined dominance over Burmese politics is noted in “A milestone for Myanmar’s democracy,” New York Times, November 12, 2015.

  482 Suu Kyi’s remarks on the constitution of Myanmar are reported in Claire Phipps and Matthew Weaver, “Aung San Suu Kyi vows to make all the decisions in Myanmar’s new government,” Guardian, November 10, 2015; see also Fergal Keane, “Myanmar election: Full BBC interview with Aung San Suu Kyi,” BBC News, November 10, 2015.