Politics of Burma

A Chinese company is moving to begin a large copper mining project in rural Myanmar, but its running into stiff resistance from monks and local farmers who say they’re being taken advantage of. Police moved in with water cannons and fire bombs — but the national government says that won’t happen again.

Aung San Suu Kyi has emerged from the shadows of protest in Myanmar and taking a seat in the country’s government. That’s enabled her to travel the world, finally, and to the United States this week. But her visit comes shortly before the visit of the president who implemented reforms that freed her, which has forced the U.S., and her, into difficult balancing act.

In the wake of successful election in Myanmar over the weekend, the United States is taking action to relax some of the sanctions it has imposed on the country, also known as Burma, for more than two decades.

Officials and advocates say that Europe and the United States should use the seemingly successful Myanmar elections as a reason to justify a broad rollback of the sanctions that have been levied against the southeast Asian nation for decades.

As Myanmar moves ahead with a set of reforms that have included the release of political prisoners, the country’s government is also opening up its media. In some cases they’ve ended pre-publication censorship entirely and in others they’ve greatly reduced the restrictions.