President Obama’s meeting with Burma’s President Thein Sein at the White House today is a stark reminder of how far the Administration has come on Burma policy. In initiating the annual process for renewal of the ban on Burmese imports last week, Representative Joseph Crowley (D–NY) reiterated his desire that …
New leaders are emerging on Capitol Hill to draw a line on Congress’s acquiescence to the White House’s rush to lift comprehensive sanctions on Burma. Congressmen Trent Franks (R–AZ), Rush Holt (D–NJ), and Trey Gowdy (R–SC) are pressing for strict conditionality on the provision of military assistance to Burma. In …
“My advice to the U.S. government: Go slow and retain as much leverage as you can,” said Amnesty International’s Frank Jannuzi when speaking at a recent Heritage event on reform in Burma. Hosted by Walter Lohman, director of Heritage’s Asian Studies Center, the discussion also featured Thomas Malanowski of Human …
Thousands of Rohingya are fleeing Burma and seeking refuge in Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Thailand only to find themselves persecuted, trafficked, or homeless. Blatant segregation and discrimination against the Rohingya has occurred since Burma’s independence in the late 1940s, but recent tension between Buddhist and Muslim groups has led to an …
Over the past month, violence between the Burmese government and the Kachin, a small Christian minority group, has escalated. Just this week, three people were killed and at least four were wounded amid destruction that has displaced nearly 100,000. The violence is the latest episode in the ongoing conflict since …
President Obama missed a key opportunity to advance robust religious liberty in prepared remarks delivered in Burma recently. This is especially disappointing given that Burma has a long track record of persecution against religious minorities; the plight of Muslims in its west is just the latest and most visible manifestation. …
As the persecution and human rights violations against ethnic minorities in Burma continue, the U.S., ASEAN, and other stakeholders need to examine their engagement with the Burmese military regime with this problem foremost in their minds. Rohingya Muslims are one of the most oppressed ethnic minorities in the world. Since …
For months now, many encouraging signals have been coming from Burma’s military-backed regime. The list of reforms over the last year is well-known: release of hundreds of political prisoners, relaxation of press censorship and return of exiled journalists, legal amendments to allow for labor unions and strikes, ceasefires with ethnic …
As we inch closer to the April 1 by-elections in Burma, during which Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) will contest some 46 parliamentary seats, Western observers need to step back, assess the conditions on the ground, and determine whether the recent reforms in Burma—coupled …
