Burma: A New Way Forward?

Burma is back in the international spotlight. After more than twenty years under house arrest, pro-democracy opposition leader and 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has been released and allowed to stand for election to parliament. Her release is just the latest in a series of important events and reforms that began in 2007. The so-called "Saffron revolution” which involved wide-spread protests by Buddhist monks, along with international pressure, have prompted the ruling military junta to loosen its grip on power by initiating government reforms and holding elections. A nation at the crossroads between India and China, Burma is composed of a mix of fractious ethnicities and has been ruled by military regimes for nearly fifty years. Many hope that Burma is finally on the cusp of true democratic change after the reforms, despite being plagued by poverty, sectarian violence and accusations of human rights abuses.