Much coverage of Burma’s “frontier market” has focused on sectors such as natural resources, telecommunications and manufacturing. Some of the world’s biggest and best-known companies—such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Microsoft and Unilever—have in recent months put their money into Burma, or pledged to, after Western sanctions were eased or lifted in response to reforms in the one-time army-ruled country.
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As Burma moves to reform its media sector, reporters have received mixed messages: While President Thein Sein’s government has won praise for abolishing pre-publication censorship, releasing journalists from prison and allowing private daily newspapers to publish for the first time in nearly 50 years, the Ministry of Information in March sent Parliament a controversial draft of a new press law that critics say will tighten the state’s grip on media content.
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Mun Awng, the famed exile Kachin singer and songwriter, rose to popular prominence in Burma during the 1980s. He fled his country after the military’s brutal crackdown in 1988 and now lives in Norway.
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Zaw Zaw, the chairman of the Myanmar Football Federation and founder of Max Myanmar Group, may be the most socially conscious of those among Burma’s business elite who are regarded as cronies.
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Ongoing violence against Muslims in Burma, which began in Mandalay Division and later spread to Naypyidaw and Pegu, left dozens dead. Between March 20 and March 28 the government admitted 42 had died. The police said the violence was orchestrated and was conducting an investigation into the events. Then President Thein Sein made a public speech, warning “religious extremists” their actions “will not be tolerated.” The Irrawaddy interviewed police Lt Col Min Aung about the police investigation into the violence. (more…)

U Wirathu is a 45-year-old Buddhist monk from Mandalay’s Masoeyein Monastery who has acquired notoriety for spreading anti-Muslim sentiments under his nationalist “969” campaign. It encourages Burmese Buddhists to shun Muslim businesses and communities. (more…)

Interview – Meiktila was quiet on Wednesday, March 20. Everyone was going about their business, including the customers in a local gold shop. Somehow an argument broke out in the shop and a customer stormed out. He returned with friends and attacked the gold shop owner who is Muslim. A crowd quickly gathered and the situation spiraled into mob violence—local Buddhists taking sides with the aggrieved customer and local Muslims siding with the shop owner.
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Ye Lin is a native of Kyopinkauk Township in Pegu Division who was forced to become a child soldier when he was 13. Now 25 years old, he was in the army for nearly four years until he deserted his unit in 2006.Ye Lin now works as a teacher in a Karenni refugee camp located in Thailand’s northern Mae Hong Son Province. (more…)

Myanmar’s icon of democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, has let down people protesting for land rights, saying she wasn’t in politics for popularity. Scott Leckie tells DW about the country’s concerning developments. (more…)

Dong Yunfei, the administrative manager of Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper Limited
Since last year, the Letpadaung copper mine project near Monywa in Sagaing Division has sparked public outcry, especially after the government’s crackdown on protesters demanding its closure, citing environmental destruction, forced relocation and illegal land confiscation. (more…)

As an unprecedented amount of investment is set to pour into Burma soon, DVB’s David Stout spoke with Jared Bissinger, a PhD candidate at Macquarie University who is studying Burma’s economy, about how new regulations and international loans are likely to affect the country. (more…)

After living for 24 years in exile, Pascal Khoo Thwe, a Burmese author known for his autobiography, “From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey,” is now visiting the country of his birth. He is an ethnic Karen and his 2002 book is about growing up in Burma under military rule. It was awarded the Kiriyama Prize, an international literary award given to books which will encourage greater understanding of and among the peoples and nations of the Pacific Rim and South Asia. He recently spoke to The Irrawaddy’s Kyaw Phyo Tha about his return to Burma.
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The Chin National Front (CNF), an ethnic armed group from western Burma, reached a ceasefire agreement with the country’s government in January 2012. Edith Mirante from Project Maje, which documents human rights and environmental issues in Burma, recently interviewed Cheery Zahau, 31, a Chin who promotes women’s empowerment and human rights training through her local and international work. (more…)

The ministry recently announced that tourism arrivals through all gateways topped one million in 2012. Why did we see such a spike in tourism last year? (more…)

Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut serves as the acting spokesperson for the President’s Office. In this capacity, he has made numerous statements to the media about the ongoing conflict in Kachin State. Yeni and Tha Lun Zaung Htet of The Irrawaddy’s editorial team spoke to him in Naypyidaw earlier this week about the ongoing conflict between Burma’s Tatmadaw, or armed forces, and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Below are some highlights from their conversation. (more…)

Earlier this month, America’s top diplomat in Burma, US Ambassador Derek Mitchell, sat down with The Irrawaddy’s editor Aung Zaw to discuss his country’s stance on the current situation in Burma. In the interview, Mitchell touched on a range of issues, from US-Burma militiary ties and the Kachin conflict to China’s role in the region and Burma’s relations with North Korea. Below are some highlights from their conversation. (more…)

In a rare example of top-down change, Burma‘s President, Thein Sein, has begun introducing democratic reforms after decades of military rule in the country also known as Myanmar. For this week’s TIME International cover story, available to subscribers here, Beijing-based East Asia Correspondent Hannah Beech traveled to the former general’s home village and interviewed him at his office in Burma’s capital, Naypyidaw. TIME asked her to share her thoughts on this unlikely reformer and his country’s future. (more…)

Vijay Nambiar currently serves as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Adviser on Myanmar, a role he has held since 2010. The veteran Indian diplomat has also served as Chef de Cabinet to the Secretary-General from 2007-2012. (more…)

On December 7th, 2012, the United-Nations expressed “grave concerns” for the displaced people in Kachin State in areas where the UN has no access. Located between Burma, China and India, the Kachin state is one where jade, diamonds, rubies, gold and precious hard woods are abundant. Today, it is also precious for its hydropower potential. Fierce fighting has raged in Kachin state since a 17-year ceasefire between the military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) shattered in June 2011. (more…)

GJIA recently sat down with Georgetown Professor and former National Security Council Director, Dr. Michael Green, to discuss recent developments in Burma. (more…)