Myanmar new government did not only take a series of steps to usher in democratic reform in the country but it also suspended a giant dam project with China, signaling to the world that it is not quite the Chinese client state it was made out to be.
President Thein Sein, a former general who was prime minister in the military junta. Within months of assuming the reins of a semi-civilian government in March this year, he released hundreds of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, and initiated dialogue with her.
His government enacted legislation allowing people to form trade unions and protest non-violently. Restrictions on the media are being lifted slowly and the National League for Democracy (NLD) has been legalized.
Besides, Thein Sein began taking steps towards resolving the decades-old ethnic conflicts. He initiated dialogue with the armed ethnic groups and has dropped key preconditions, including a plan to convert their armies into border guards. He has offered an unprecedented national conference that will involve the opposition too to find a political solution to the country’s many ethnic conflicts.
He announced the suspension of one of its largest foreign investment projects - the Chinese-backed US$3.6 billion Myitsone dam project.
Myanmar's suspension of the project, risking the ire of its giant neighbor, revealed that it was not the Chinese puppet it was believed to be and signaled to the world that it was open to initiating relationships with new partners, including the West.
Sources:
Asia Times
President Thein Sein, a former general who was prime minister in the military junta. Within months of assuming the reins of a semi-civilian government in March this year, he released hundreds of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, and initiated dialogue with her.
His government enacted legislation allowing people to form trade unions and protest non-violently. Restrictions on the media are being lifted slowly and the National League for Democracy (NLD) has been legalized.
Besides, Thein Sein began taking steps towards resolving the decades-old ethnic conflicts. He initiated dialogue with the armed ethnic groups and has dropped key preconditions, including a plan to convert their armies into border guards. He has offered an unprecedented national conference that will involve the opposition too to find a political solution to the country’s many ethnic conflicts.
He announced the suspension of one of its largest foreign investment projects - the Chinese-backed US$3.6 billion Myitsone dam project.
Myanmar's suspension of the project, risking the ire of its giant neighbor, revealed that it was not the Chinese puppet it was believed to be and signaled to the world that it was open to initiating relationships with new partners, including the West.
Sources:
Asia Times
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