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It has been a year since a
brutal military
crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim
minority in Myanmar's
Rakhine State
sparked an exodus of refugees into neighboring
Bangladesh.
On Sept. 3, nine months after their
arrest, two Reuters journalists were
sentenced
to seven years in jail for receiving "secret" state
documents while covering the plight of
the Rohingya community. In the
meantime, reports of
military clashes with Kachin, Karen and
Shan
insurgent forces continue to trickle out from Myanmar.
The world is now watching the reaction of the
Myanmar government and more
keenly, that
of its de facto head, State Counselor
Aung San Suu Kyi, who
endured many
years of military persecution herself.
Her silence so far
has led to much criticism from
democratic quarters.
It has been 30 years since Senior Gen. Saw Maung
led the military to
seize control of the country
during a nationwide pro-democracy uprising.
Although Saw Maung's rule is long over, the
military retains a firm grip
on the country
despite the election of Suu Kyi's National
League for
Democracy to government.
In this issue of the Nikkei Asian Review, we focus
on today's Myanmar. In
2011, the country, still
under military rule, opened up to the West.
But
in the aftermath of the Rohingya crisis,
Western countries are at risk of
losing their
influence over Myanmar once again. Western
companies are
also pulling back.
On the other hand, China and other Asian
nations are starting to wield
more power over
Naypyitaw. Asian investors, in particular those
from
China, Singapore and Thailand, are leading investments into Myanmar and
influencing the
way the country is developing.
Our journalists on the ground report the real
voices from these investors
who are at once
facing political uncertainty and yet untapped
economic
opportunities in Myanmar.
We also bring to you an interview with a key
character in Myanmar's
transformation from j
unta rule to civilian. Min Ko Naing was a studen
t at
Rangoon University 30 years ago and an
important voice of the
pro-democracy student demonstrations in 1988. He was arrested in
March
1989 and spent much of the next 23
years in and out of prison. Our
journalist
who first interviewed him in 1988
caught up with him recently
to talk about
the last 30 tumultuous years.
We hope you enjoy reading the Nikkei Asian Review.
Sincerely yours,
Sonoko Watanabe
Editor-in-chief
Nikkei Asian Review
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