Timeline: Reforms in Burma

Analysts agree that the political opening in Burma has gathered pace over recent years. Here is a timeline of key developments.

2010

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has enjoyed greater physical and political freedoms

November The main military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), claims a resounding victory in the first elections for 20 years. Opposition groups allege widespread fraud and many Western countries condemn the vote as a sham. The junta says it marks the transition from military rule to a civilian democracy.
A week after the election, Aung San Suu Kyi - who had been prevented from taking part - is released from house arrest.

2011

January The government authorises internet connection for Aung San Suu Kyi.
March Thein Sein is sworn in as president of a nominally civilian government and the transfer of powers to the new government is complete.
May The new government frees thousands of prisoners under an amnesty, but few political prisoners are among them and the move is dismissed by one rights group as "pathetic".
August Aung San Suu Kyi is allowed to leave Rangoon on a political visit; days later she meets President Thein Sein in Nay Pyi Taw.
September President Thein Sein suspends construction of controversial Chinese-funded Myitsone hydroelectric dam, in move seen as showing greater openness to public opinion.
October More than 200 political prisoners are freed as part of a general amnesty. New labour laws allowing unions are passed.
November The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) agrees that Burma will chair the grouping in 2014. Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi says she will stand for election to parliament, as her party rejoins the political process.

Hundreds of political prisoners have been freed as Burma pushes ahead with reforms

December US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits, meets Aung San Suu Kyi and holds talks with President Thein Sein. The US offers to improve relations if democratic reforms continue.
President Thein Sein signs a law allowing peaceful demonstrations for the first time. The NLD re-registers as a political party in advance of by-elections for parliament due to be held early in 2012.
Burmese authorities agree a truce deal with rebels of Shan ethnic group and orders the military to stop operations against ethnic Kachin rebels.

2012

January The government signs a ceasefire with rebels of Karen ethnic group.
A day later, hundreds of prisoners are released - among them the country's most prominent political prisoners, including veterans of the 1988 student protest movement, monks involved in the 2007 demonstrations and activists from many ethnic minority groups.

Is Burma's political landscape changing for good?

By Rachel Harvey BBC South East Asia Correspondent

Aung San Suu Kyi's party is rejoining the political process amid signs of change

 

If there was any lingering doubt about whether or not there is a process of change under way in Burma, this past week will surely have dispelled it.

On Monday opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked a year since her release from house arrest by delivering an overtly political speech. She described the past 12 months as "eventful, energising and to a certain extent encouraging".
Four days later she and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), backed that cautious optimism with concrete action by voting to re-register as a legal political party. The move opens the way for party members, including Aung San Suu Kyi, to contest a slew of forthcoming by-elections.
Just over a year after boycotting a process it rejected as a sham designed to perpetuate military rule in civilian guise, the NLD and its iconic leader are choosing to move back inside the official system.
It was, according to NLD Vice-Chairman Tin Oo, "a difficult decision taken after hard discussions". That may be an understatement.
The decision to boycott last November's elections, the first since the NLD's unconsummated landslide win of 1990, led to a faction breaking away to form their own party to contest the poll. What must they be thinking now?

“Start Quote

There is bound to be some occasional backsliding, but provided the general trend is in the right direction, that is the best we can hope for”

End Quote Derek Tonkin Former British diplomat

The NLD points to recent developments, including amendments to electoral laws which had prohibited serving prisoners from participating, and the continuing dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi and the new nominally civilian government, as justification for its decision.

Whatever the rationale, the move changes the political landscape in Burma.
'Travel down the road'
Where Aung San Suu Kyi leads, others follow. Even the president of the United States felt he should call her - his first direct contact with the pro-democracy icon - before announcing that he was sending America's top diplomat, Hillary Clinton, to Burma in December.
President Barack Obama outlined what he called the "flickers of progress" in recent weeks, making sure credit went in large part to his counterpart, Burmese President Thein Sein, seen as the main driving force behind recent reforms.

Continue reading the main story

REFORM IN BURMA

• 7 Nov 2010: First polls in 20 years
• 13 Nov: Aung San Suu Kyi freed from house arrest
• 30 Mar 2011: Transfer of power to new government complete
• 14 Aug: Aung San Suu Kyi allowed to leave Rangoon on political visit
• 19 Aug: Aung San Suu Kyi meets Burmese President Thein Sein
• 6 Oct: Human rights commission established
• 12 Oct: More than 200 political prisoners freed
• 13 Oct: New labour laws allowing unions passed
• 17 Nov: Burma granted Asean chair in 2014

"We want to seize what could be a historic opportunity for progress, and to make it clear that if Burma continues to travel down the road of democratic reform, it can forge a new relationship with the United States of America," Mr Obama said.

But there are several steps that need to be taken before that point is reached - the release of all remaining political prisoners, resolving the armed conflicts which persist in some areas, addressing the rights of Burma's ethnic minorities and ensuring the fair and independent application of the rule of law.
Regional body Asean clearly thinks Burma is moving in the right direction. Its decision to award its historically recalcitrant member the rotating chair of the organisation in 2014 is both reward for steps taken thus far and encouragement to keep it up.
Derek Tonkin, a former British ambassador in the region says: "They (Asean) have also made it clear that they are looking for steady progress from now on. They are taking a risk, but they feel they have good reason to do so."
Sceptics will view all this with alarm, arguing that nothing that has changed in Burma so far is set in stone. The hawks, the military, could still bring these nascent signs of reform to a shuddering halt.
"You are never going to get that 'irreversible' assurance which Western countries say they are seeking," says Derek Tonkin. "There is bound to be some occasional backsliding, but provided the general trend is in the right direction, that is the best we can hope for."
'Practical help'
There appears now to be a consensus developing around that view and on the need to bolster and encourage the direction of travel.
Aung San Suu Kyi seemed to offer some guidelines towards the end of her speech earlier this week.
In it she appealed to all those who wish Burma well, to help by "criticising us when necessary, encouraging us at the right time and, if I may request it, providing us with practical help when we need it".
The first and second steps are being fulfilled. The challenge now is how and when to follow through on the last.

Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi says she felt compelled to act on behalf of the people of Burma

Like the South African leader Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi has become an international symbol of peaceful resistance in the face of oppression.

 

The 65-year-old has spent most of the last 20 years in some form of detention because of her efforts to bring democracy to military-ruled Burma.
In 1991, a year after her National League for Democracy won an overwhelming victory in an election the junta later nullified, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The committee chairman, Francis Sejested, called her "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".
She was sidelined for Burma's first elections in two decades on 7 November 2010 but released from house arrest six days later.
Thousands of supporters gathered to hear her issue a call for Burmese people to work together for change.
Political pedigree
Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of the country's independence hero, General Aung San.

 

Profile: The woman who has become the face of Burma's democracy movement

He was assassinated during the transition period in July 1947, just six months before independence.
Aung San Suu Kyi was only two years old at the time.

In 1960 she went to India with her mother Daw Khin Kyi, who had been appointed Burma's ambassador to Delhi.
Four years later she went to Oxford University in the UK, where she studied philosophy, politics and economics. There she met her future husband, academic Michael Aris.

After stints of living and working in Japan and Bhutan, she settled in the UK to raise their two children, Alexander and Kim.
But Burma was never far from her thoughts.
When she arrived back in Rangoon in 1988 - to look after her critically ill mother - Burma was in the midst of major political upheaval.

Ms Suu Kyi was a toddler when her father was assassinated

Thousands of students, office workers and monks took to the streets demanding democratic reform.
"I could not, as my father's daughter remain indifferent to all that was going on," she said in a speech in Rangoon on 26 August 1988.

Ms Suu Kyi was soon propelled into leading the revolt against the then-dictator, General Ne Win.
Inspired by the non-violent campaigns of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King and India's Mahatma Gandhi, she organised rallies and travelled around the country, calling for peaceful democratic reform and free elections.
But the demonstrations were brutally suppressed by the army, who seized power in a coup on 18 September 1988.
The military government called national elections in May 1990.
Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD convincingly won the polls, despite the fact that she herself was under house arrest and disqualified from standing.
But the junta refused to hand over control, and has remained in power ever since.
House arrest
Ms Suu Kyi remained under house arrest in Rangoon for six years, until she was released in July 1995.

Aung San Suu Kyi

• 1989: Put under house arrest as Burma junta declares martial law
• 1990: NLD wins election; military disregards result
• 1991: Wins Nobel Peace Prize
• 1995: Released from house arrest, but movements restricted
• 2000-02: Second period of house arrest
• May 2003: Detained after clash between NLD and junta forces
• Sep 2003: Allowed home after medical treatment, but under effective house arrest
• May 2007: House arrest is extended for another year
• Sept 2007: First public appearance since 2003, greeting protesting Buddhist monks
• May 2008: House arrest extended for another year
• May 2009: Charged with breaking detention rules after an American swims to her compound
• August 2009: Sentenced to 18 months further house arrest

She was again put under house arrest in September 2000, when she tried to travel to the city of Mandalay in defiance of travel restrictions.

She was released unconditionally in May 2002, but just over a year later she was put in prison following a clash between her supporters and a government-backed mob.
She was later allowed to return home - but again under effective house arrest, where she has since remained.
During periods of confinement, Ms Suu Kyi has busied herself studying and exercising.
She has meditated, worked on her French and Japanese language skills, and relaxed by playing Bach on the piano.

In more recent years, she has also been able to meet other NLD officials and selected diplomats.
But during her early years of detention, she was often in solitary confinement. She was not allowed to see her two sons or her husband, who died of cancer in March 1999.
The military authorities offered to allow her to travel to the UK to see him when he was gravely ill, but she felt compelled to refuse for fear she would not be allowed back into the country.
She has grandchildren she has never met.
'Can't stop freedom'
In recent months she has been criticised in some quarters for her decision to boycott the November 2010 elections, Burma's first in 20 years.
The NLD said the election laws were unfair and decided not to take part in the polls. Under new election laws, it then had to disband.
But a group of NLD members formed a new party to contest the polls, arguing that some representation in the new parliament would be better than none at all.
The polls - described as "neither free nor fair" by US President Barack Obama - appear to have left military-backed parties firmly in control.
So much so, in fact, that they freed the pro-democracy leader six days after the elections, to a jubilant reception.
Ms Suu Kyi has often said that detention has made her even more sure that she should dedicate her life to representing the average Burmese citizen.
In a rare interview in 2007 during the uprising that was brutally put down by the military, she said democracy was "not finished in Burma".
"No matter the regime's physical power, in the end they can't stop the people; they can't stop freedom," she told British journalist John Pilger. "We shall have our time."

What will Burma's economic future look like?

By Saira Syed BBC News

Many are wondering when Burma's vast economic potential will start to benefit the poorest in the country

 

As Burma's political leaders win the symbolic support of a fast-growing region, the fortunes of the population in the resource-rich country are not looking as bright.

On Thursday, the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) endorsed Burma to take on the leadership of the 10-member regional bloc in 2014, seen as a milestone in the government's quest for recognition.
Since the military handed over power to a nominal civilian government, there has been plenty of reformist rhetoric and some action - including calls for peace with ethnic minority groups, easing of media controls and the release of some political prisoners.
But analysts say sanctions imposed by the European Union and the US on the country are not going away anytime soon. So what does this mean for the economy?
'Geographic backdoor'
Burma has massive economic potential. It has one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, as well as other minerals.
It is also rich in timber, agricultural products and precious stones, exporting mainly to Thailand, India and China.
The country is geographically well positioned to be a gateway for trade.

Burma's economy

• Gross domestic product is expected to rise by 5.5% in 2011

Exports: $8.6bn (2010)

• Export commodities: natural gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice, clothing, jade and gems
• Export partners: Thailand 38.3%, India 20.8%, China 12.9%

Imports: $4.2bn (2010)

• Import commodities: fabric, petroleum products, fertilizer, plastics, machinery, transport equipment; cement, construction materials, crude oil, food products, edible oil
• Import partners: China 38.9%, Thailand 23.2%, Singapore 12.9%

Source: CIA, The World Factbook

Burma sits between India and China, with ports on the Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea. If developed with more rail and pipeline projects, Burma could link Asean with India and the rest of South Asia.

"Burma is basically the backdoor to the Chinese and Indian markets and economies," says Maung Zarni, co-ordinator for Burma and Myanmar Research Initiative at the London School of Economics.
"For this reason the unconditional embrace of the dictatorship by Asean and other nations is a given. It's commercially driven," Mr Zarni says.
Chinese influence
It's also driven by a desire for Asean to limit China's influence in the strategically important country.
China and Burma have previously maintained a strong bilateral relationship, one that emerged from a shared communist history.
Today, China is the biggest foreign investor in Burma with pledged investment reaching above $14bn in the financial year ending in March 2011, according to official data.

“Start Quote

There has been competition between China and Asean over Burma, they both want to have a stronghold in the country”

End Quote Pavin Chachavalpongpun Institute of South East Asian studies

Chinese money is backing multi-billion dollar pipeline projects, including one that will carry oil across Burma to link Chinese refineries. And a separate project that will carry offshore natural gas to China from Burma.

Recently, however, Burma suspended the Chinese-funded $3.6bn Myitsone dam on the Irawaddy river in the north after public opposition.
Analysts say Burma is eager to be less dependent on China, and attract foreign investment from South East Asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
"There has been competition between China and Asean over Burma, they both want to have a stronghold in the country," says Pavin Chachavalpongpun from the Institute of South East Asian studies in Singapore.
A free-trade agreement between Asean countries goes into effect in 2015, a move that Asean is hoping will allow the bloc to act as a counterweight to China in the region.
Policy changes
Domestically however, the economy is plagued by inefficient government policies, corruption and chronic rural poverty.
Industries such as tourism have not been developed to their full potential and many analysts say that Burma's economic picture won't improve until it becomes more welcoming to businesses.

A massive dam project backed by China was halted after protests

"You have a regime that is obsessed with its own security above economic development," says Mr Zarni.
"There are no responsive, transparent and accountable business procedures."
This makes businesses feel vulnerable and has kept them mostly out, except for a few "irresistible areas such as oil and gas," he adds.
Most of the foreign investment into Burma is, in fact, in oil and gas exploration, with French and US energy companies having a presence there despite sanctions imposed by the US and European Union governments.
Another barrier to foreign investment is the country's multiple exchange rates. Burma has an official exchange rate and an unofficial, black market, rate.
At the central bank's request, a team from the International Monetary Fund recently went to Burma to try and unify the exchange rates as well as lift restrictions on international payments and transfers.
But the problems are not just procedural, they are political, and they will need political will to be resolved.
Although small steps have been taken, there is a long road ahead for Burma to start capitalising on its vast potential, and for the benefits to start trickling down to the poorest of the population.

Aung San Suu Kyi registers for Burma election run

 

Aung San Suu Kyi registers as a parliamentary candidate.

Hundreds of supporters turned out to see Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi register to run in a by-election for a parliamentary seat.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) party head will run in Kawhmu, southwest of Rangoon, in polls on 1 April.

Ms Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in November 2010.
Her party boycotted the last elections but has now rejoined the political process amid reform in Burma.
The by-election will fill 48 parliamentary seats left vacant when cabinet members and deputy ministers assumed their posts.

The NLD plans to contest more than 40 seats in the event that is being seen as a key test of the military-backed government's reformist credentials, says BBC South East Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey.

Ms Suu Kyi is seeking office in the rural township of Kawhmu. It was one of the areas hit hard by Cyclone Nargis, which left at least 138,000 people dead in the Rangoon region and Irrawaddy Delta in 2008.
She made no public statement as she filed registration papers but as she left the office she was mobbed by hundreds of supporters during an impromptu walkabout.
Some carried flowers, others had served long prison sentences for being members of her political party.
The by-election will almost certainly see her take a seat in Parliament, and her party, the National League for Democracy become the official opposition, says the BBC's Jon Williams, in Rangoon.

Analysis

Rachel Harvey BBC South East Asia Correspondent

---

Kawhmu hardly seems prepared for the wave of election fever that is about to sweep over it.
The township is a sleepy rural community with a couple of traditional tea shops, a motorbike repair garage and a street food market.
The local NLD branch office is made out of bamboo and water is drawn from a well outside.
But this is the constituency in which Aung San Suu Kyi has chosen to run, the first time ever she has stood for public office.

The real test for Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD could be managing the expectations of their supporters, some of whom are impatient for change, he adds. It could be 2015 before the next general election in Burma.

The by-election will be the first time that Ms Suu Kyi will participate in an election. She was under house arrest in 1990 when her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won the election by a landslide. It was not allowed to take power.
The NLD boycotted the 2010 election that saw the military-backed civilian administration of President Thein Sein replace the military junta.
The new administration has since entered into dialogue with Ms Suu Kyi and changed the electoral laws that led the NLD to boycott the 2010 polls.
Last week the government signed a ceasefire deal with Karen rebels - who have fought for greater autonomy for more than 60 years.
It also released many political prisoners on 13 January, including Burma's most prominent political dissidents - 88 Generation Student leaders Min Ko Naing and Ko Jimmy, as well as Buddhist monk Shin Gambira.

REFORM IN BURMA

• 7 Nov 2010: First polls in 20 years
• 13 Nov: Aung San Suu Kyi freed from house arrest
• 30 Mar 2011: Transfer of power to new government complete
• 19 Aug: Aung San Suu Kyi meets Burmese President Thein Sein
• 12 Oct: More than 200 political prisoners freed
• 13 Oct: New labour laws allowing unions passed
• 17 Nov: Burma granted Asean chair in 2014
• 23 Dec: NLD registers as political party
• 12 Jan: Karen ceasefire signed
• 13 Jan: Highest-profile political prisoners freed

The US has described the release of political prisoners as a substantial step towards democratic reform and says it will start the process of exchanging ambassadors with Burma.

Burma remains the subject of economic sanctions from the European Union, the United States and Canada, among others. Of the major economies, only China, India and South Korea have invested in the country.
But Western leaders have said they will match progress towards democracy in Burma with concessions and political incentives.
The Philippines - one of the most outspoken critics in Asia of Burma's military rule - has also reiterated its call for the lifting of sanctions on Burma, citing "unprecedented political and economic reforms" towards democracy.
Both countries are members of the Association of South East Asian Nations, which Burma will chair in 2014.

Cool factor cultivates cash crop

Beautiful valley thrives after doing away with drugs

• Published: 17/01/2012 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: Life

Situated in a remote valley a stone's throw from the Thailand-Myanmar border, Angkhang is surprisingly filled with beauty.

Strawberry plantations line the slopes in the valley of Angkhang.

In late afternoon, strong sunlight drives everyone to hide under shade, seeking a mountain breeze to cool down the daytime heat. However, after sunset, the temperature begins to drop sharply. Tourists who find their clothing is not warm enough dart to the nearest market to shop for additional items. Local people wrap themselves in thick coats, resembling fat bears from a distance.
At an elevation of 1,400 metres above sea level and with a deep valley landscape, Doi Angkhang, in Fang district of Chiang Mai, is well known for its extreme weather, particularly the coldness. And that is a magnet that attracts people from other parts of the country to experience the temperate climate.

Colourful flowers planted in the valley.

"It was -2C last night," a member of staff from Angkhang Nature Resort said.
Established since 1969, Angkhang is the first research centre of the Royal Project. In an effort to reduce opium plantation, the research centre focuses on promoting temperate fruit plantations for nine villages of hill-tribers and Kuomingtang Chinese.
A temperate climate enables various colourful flowers to grow happily in Angkhang valley. The research centre itself is made all the more beautiful by a garden rich in temperate-climate flowers such as rhododendron, lavender, camellia, poppy and lady slipper orchid. So, if you plan to visit the centre, spare at least half a day to spend here.
"The temperate weather made Angkhang a haven for opium growers. We tried hard to educate local people to grow new cash crops such as plum, ume and persimmon," said Anat Charoenphong, packing chief at Angkhang Royal Agricultural Station.
"It was quite difficult to change their lifestyle and prove that these new plants could generate more money than opium. However, it is quite successful today. The people around here are wealthier and enjoy a better life."
It is quite impressive to learn that, in a matter of decades, Angkhang gradually transformed from dangerous drug trade area into high-yielding, lush plantation.

Tourists stop to admire cherry blossom on the way to Doi Angkhang.

"One day on the mountain, one of our staff here asked a poor farmer if he wanted to buy his motorcycle. He offered a special price, assuming that the poor farmer definitely could not afford it. But the farmer paid him right away, with cash. The staff member had to walk a long way home that day."
Scoot around and you will find that villages around Angkhang today are nourished by cash crops like flowers, vegetables and fruits. It is also pleasing to hear that they prefer organic farming. Making their own fertiliser can help them save quite a large amount of money.
In winter, strawberries become the seasonal highlight of this mountain, so, a number of visitors can be found roaming around, particularly the village of Nor Lae, for the lovely red fruit.
In some corners, you may come across a huge strawberry plantation that occupies an entire small valley. Walk around, and you may find an abundance of hanging strawberries.
"Do not wash it, the strawberry will lose its sweetness," Anat suggested. "Our chemical-free programme enables farmers to grow very safe strawberries. You can eat it right away."
I sit in a hut, with a panoramic view of a strawberry plantation that lines the slope. The sunlight remains too strong. But I don't leave my jacket and gloves too far. I know I will need them promptly after the sun has set.

Rhinolophus Blasii

Photograph by Michael Curran and Mirjam Kopp

This is a Rhinolophus blasii from Mount Mabu in northern Mozambique. We spent 13 nights sampling in a remarkably intact montane rain forest. Although capture success was low, we recorded a very diverse yet even community of bats in this forest. In areas of West Africa, a similar pattern was observed in intact wild habitat: low levels of abundance but a highly diverse community.

About the Project

NGS/Waitt grantee Michael Curran and his team are documenting how Mozambique and Malawi forests are essential to their local, large bat communities. Using mist nets, canopy nets, harp traps and acoustic monitoring (recording ultrasonic bat calls using a bat detector), Curran has discovered that these forests support a very large proportion of the region’s bat diversity within a very small geographic area. Visiting eight sites across three mountains in Mozambique and Malawi, he and his team captured 245 bats representing about 27 species.