On the eve of the third anniversary of the 2021 coup, Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government (NUG) has reaffirmed its intention to defeat the country’s military dictatorship and build a “new federal democratic union” on its ashes. The NUG, which is spearheading the resistance to military rule, released a joint position statement today along with … Read more
A court in Myanmar has ordered the auction in March of the Yangon villa belonging to imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi, where the Nobel laureate spent more than 15 years under house arrest. In a ruling on Thursday, the country’s Supreme Court ordered the property to be auctioned on March 20, with the reserve … Read more
Almost two billion people, around half of the world’s population, will vote in elections this year. It could either be the 12 months that see the triumph of liberal democracy or the demise of political liberty. But things will be a little drab in Southeast Asia. Yes, some 200 million Indonesians will head to the … Read more
The Chinese idiom, “times make heroes,” aptly captures the current situation of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a Chinese-speaking rebel group in northeastern Myanmar. This ethnic armed organization (EAO) has tended to attract less attention than some of its peers, such as the well-equipped United Wa State Army and the long-standing Karen National … Read more
Today, Myanmar stands at a critical juncture in its history. The escalating losses of the Myanmar military due to the coordinated attacks by resistance forces and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) throughout the country have ignited a pivotal debate, both nationally and internationally, about the country’s future trajectory. Is Myanmar heading towards fragmentation and chaos? Ye … Read more
Three weeks after launching a broad offensive in the northeast of the country, rebel forces in Myanmar are closing in on Laukkai, a town controlled by a pro-junta militia near the Chinese border. The capture of the town, the capital of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone (SAZ) in northern Shan State, appears to be one of … Read more
On November 17, 2022, the Australian economist Sean Turnell was released from prison in Myanmar after nearly two years of isolation. As an adviser to the country’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi who had spent many years living and working in the country, Turnell was arrested shortly after the military coup that unfolded on … Read more
ASEAN Beat | Politics | Southeast Asia The extension is an admission that the military has failed to quell the broad-based armed resistance to its rule. Advertisement Myanmar’s military junta has extended its state of emergency by a further six months, once again delaying elections that it had vowed to hold by the end of the year. The country’s … Read more
Advertisement More than two years after Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup, the country’s conflict shows no signs of ending any time soon. The military junta and its opponents are currently locked into a zero-sum struggle for power, underpinned by radically incompatible visions of how the country should be governed, and by whom. The … Read more
Advertisement The military junta that attempted to seize control of Myanmar in February 2021 has failed. Free movement of its personnel is now reduced to the areas south and west of Mandalay in the country’s core. Even there, it is facing daily assassinations and bomb attacks and is barely able to govern due to widespread … Read more