New Mandala

In the 1990s, China reportedly established a signals intelligence base on Great Coco Island, though it was never confirmed. And now, Burma’s tourism authorities intend to open the islands up to foreign and domestic tour groups with the first ferry of tourists due to sail on Friday…A return ticket price for the first tour has [...]

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Here is a very interesting clip – from a weekly community English class in Yangon that draws 500 students.

The video was taken by Anne Murat, who is co-filmmaker on the the documentary Rangoon Cocoon.
Thanks to a regular reader for the tip.

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The Myanmar government’s attempts to restrict reporting, by both local and international media, have shown no signs of abating in the lead-up to the 2010 election.
Last month, it continued with the arrest of more journalists. It seems the arrests were not directly related to their line of work — they were members of a civil [...]

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New Mandala readers who enjoyed our recent post, “Going to Pagan: Gay slang in Burma”, will be pleased to know that it is now available in Burmese.

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When I am asked I sometimes make the idle observation that many of the Burmese I know are, in general terms, very bookish, curious, intellectual types.  Burma, to take the generalisation further, is a society where knowledge is valued, and the average citizen demonstrates a passion for learning.  Of course, any stereotype of this sort [...]

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The show goes on. The military has a clear vision of what kind of state Burma should be—and that is not a democracy. It is sometimes argued that the hopes for a more pluralistic society rest on the next generation army officers. Aware of this danger, officers have been given unprecedented privileges and business opportunities [...]

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David Scott Mathieson, the Human Rights Watch “Burma-watcher”, has written an essay on Australian approaches to Burma.  From certain perspectives I expect this would be considered a parochial matter. But my sense is that the current debate here in Australia around, crudely, “sanctions” and “engagement” is one that speaks to the wider yearning for a [...]

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The Asean summit will be the first occasion the Burmese junta’s Prime Minister, Thein Sein, can meet exile Burmese CSOs [Civil Society Organizations]. Thein Sein will meet with nine other Asean leaders on October 23.
Thein Sein threatened to boycott the last Asean meeting if Thailand proposed Burmese exile groups have a representative at the Asean [...]

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A Burmese language translation of this article is available here.
Gay people in Burma are resisting homophobia and marginalisation through the creative use of new communication codes. In doing so, they are making a significant contribution to linguistic diversity in Burma and raising the visibility of their community in important ways.
‘It is important to publicise these [...]

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The capital’s labour force is still busy constructing the capital’s future – an impressive parliament complex and a presidential house are emerging in anticipation of the 2010 general elections. The total cost of building Naypyidaw remains a mystery, although a local businessman points out that about $2 million has been spent for each high-ranking official’s [...]

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