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Changing tides in Myanmar

A woman places her vote during elections held earlier this month in Myanmar.
Richard Wainwright
/
AP Images
A woman places her vote during elections held earlier this month in Myanmar.

The dramatically swift democratic reform in Myanmar has been the geopolitical surprise of the past year. The new government -- headed by former military Thein Sein -- freed thousands of political prisoners and signed truces with rebel groups. 

Press restrictions and labor laws were loosened. Opposition leader Aung San Su Kyi emerged from house arrest, and in April, the Nobel prize winner led her party to victory in parliamentary elections deemed free and fair.

Although the military is still firmly in control, international sanctions are being lifted. And this weekend, the United Nations secretary-general is visiting Myanmar for the first time in 20 years.

To discuss these recent developments in Myanmar, Global Journalist was joined by Lwin Than, Chief of the Burmese Service for Voice of America; and David Stout, an editor with the Democratic Voice of Burma who’s based in Thailand. 

 

Rehman Tungekar is a former producer for KBIA, who left at the beginning of 2014.