Global Geopolitics & Political Economy B.RAMAN The Government-controlled Xinhua news agency of China reported as follows on October 17,2010: "Myanmar has planned to construct a railroad that will link a deep-sea port, Kyaukphyu, in western Rakhine state with Kunming, southwest of China, the local Weekly Eleven News reported Saturday (My comment: It is possibly a [...]
BURMA: As Vote Nears, Moods Range from Disdain to Determination
October 13, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS Yan Paing RANGOON, Burma, Oct 13 (IPS) – "Voting in X (number of) days," reads what sound like a reminder to voters in the front pages of weekly journals here ahead of the Nov. 7 general election in Burma, the first to be held in 20 years. But [...]
BURMA: Heroin Trade Tears Social Fabric of Ethnic Minorities
September 29, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Sep 29, 2010 (IPS) – Dustbins in a university toilet rarely elicit a second look, but those at one of the oldest universities in Burma’s Kachin State do offer reason to pause. The bins, after all, collect a special form of garbage disposed of [...]
LABOUR: Newly Emboldened Burmese Workers Press for Change
September 14, 2010 By
Global Analyst Online – Global News Blog / IPS By Marwaan Macan-Markar KHON KAEN, Thailand, Sep 14, 2010 (IPS) – When nearly 1,000 Burmese migrant workers launched a strike at a fishnet factory in north-east Thailand a week ago, activists expected it to be a short burst of anger. After all, this frequently abused labour [...]
POLITICS-BURMA: After 20 Years, Junta Picks November Poll Date
August 13, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Aug 13, 2010 (IPS) – By finally announcing the date of the country’s first general election in 20 years, Burma’s military regime has lived up to a promise it made in its seven-step "roadmap", a blueprint in its desperate quest for political legitimacy. "Multi-party [...]
Rights Group Presses EU to Act on Burma
August 12, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IDN By Jaya Ramachandran IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis BRUSSELS (IDN) – Human Rights Watch has urged foreign ministers of the 27-nation European Union to publicly support an international Commission of Inquiry for Burma, stressing that it is not enough to simply continue to document and publish reports on the rights situation [...]
BURMA: Call for War Crimes Inquiry Foils U.N. Envoy’s Trip
August 9, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Aug 9, 2010 (IPS) – When a U.N. human rights investigator for Burma called for an international inquiry to look into possible war crimes by the country’s military regime, he added significant weight to similar calls that had been made in other quarters. But [...]
BURMA: Loophole Gives Junta Room to Go Nuclear in Secrecy
July 22, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Jul 21, 2010 (IPS) – Thanks to a loophole in the international regime to control the proliferation of nuclear weapons, military-ruled Burma could very well carry out its reported intent to go nuclear behind a veil of secrecy, free of scrutiny from the International [...]
SOUTH-EAST ASIA: Burma’s Nuke Ambitions to Come under Scrutiny
July 20, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Jul 19 (IPS) – When South-east Asian foreign ministers gather in Hanoi this week for a series of annual security meetings, the region’s most troublesome member, military-ruled Burma, is due to come under scrutiny over reports of its nuclear ambitions. Alarm bells have been going [...]
RIGHTS-BURMA: Youngsters, Families Evade Recruitment into Armies
July 16, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Mon Mon Myat RANGOON, Jul 15, 2010 (IPS) – They are novices at a Buddhist monastery just outside Rangoon, but they are also young boys who will always find time for a friendly game of football. This day is no different, and visitors find them wearing sarongs [...]
