What’s in a name? In 1989, the ruling military junta changed the name of Burma to Myanmar, one year after thousands were killed in the suppression of a popular uprising. The change was recognised by the United Nations and by countries such as...
The media in Burma are freer now than at any point in the last decade, yet significant challenges remain and there are troubling signs on the horizon. The abolition of the pre-censorship of the printed press, the return of daily newspapers and of...
For 25 years, the international NGO Reporters Without Borders that monitors attacks on freedom of information worldwide was banned from visiting Burma. Inside the country, all freely-reported news and information was forbidden and the country’s leading journalists were detained in its 43 jails....
Freedom of religion in Burma has become a controversial political issue after the Burmese government published a religious conversion bill in state-owned newspapers in May 2014 inviting input from citizens. The publication followed a pro-bill campaign spearheaded by a group of Buddhist monks...
Former political prisoner Nay Phone Latt, 34, is the secretary of PEN Myanmar and executive director of the advocacy group, Myanmar ICT Development Organization (MIDO). In April 2014 he launched the anti-hate speech movement panzagar (“flower speech”), which has campaigned on social media...
A few months before the 2013 elections, many Cambodians began to break out of their culture of fear, silence and political ignorance and embrace civic engagement. They participated in opposition campaigns, demonstrations, and the elections themselves. The public domain has become a place...