Foreign investors flocked to Myanmar as it began its democratic transition a decade ago, but this week's military coup is likely to accelerate a trend of Western withdrawal - and China's expansion.Myanmar's untapped potential was up for grabs in 2011, when generals in charge of a 49-year junta loosened their iron grip, paving the way for democratic reforms and economic liberalisation in the country of more than 50 million people. Investors pumped money into telecommuni

Until recently, the last time Myanmar’s military supervised a general election whose outcome it didn’t like was back in 1990.

Since the British declared independence of Burma in 1948, the Tatmadaw – Burmese Army – has been running modern-day Burma via coups and proxies.

The Myanmar military's detention of Aung San Suu Kyi during this week's coup has revived memories of her more than 15 years of house arrest at a lakeside villa in Yangon during the country's last period of junta rule.Under the cover of darkness early Monday, soldiers took Myanmar's de facto leader - who became a beacon for democracy in the 1990s and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate - back into custody.A lawmaker from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, who requested

Myanmar's military has detained the country's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an apparent coup, her ruling party's spokesman said Monday. The military, which ruled the country for nearly five decades, had this week refused to rule out seizing power over its claims of voter fraud in November's elections, won by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Myo Nyunt, the spokesman for the NLD, said Suu Kyi, along with President Win Myint, h

Myanmar's military on Saturday vowed to abide by the country's constitution, in an apparent backtracking after its commander-in-chief spurred fears of a coup when he suggested the charter could be repealed. The army has for weeks alleged widespread irregularities in November's election, won in a landslide by Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD). Tensions were ramped up Tuesday when a military spokesman refused to rule out the poss

Myanmar's military must be investigated for possible "war crimes and crimes against humanity" as a conflict with rebels in the country's northwest ramps up, a United Nations (UN) rights expert said Wednesday.The military is locked in an increasingly bloody civil war against the Arakan Army (AA), an insurgent group fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.Scores have been killed, hundreds wounded and some 150,000 people have fled their homes since the fightin

When the 34th ASEAN Summit concluded in June 2019 in Bangkok, it came as no surprise that the bloc was met with heavy criticism for suggesting Rohingya refugees will repatriate back to Myanmar within two years. More than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee northern Rakhine state in western Myanmar during a 2017 military-led crackdown the United Nations (UN) has said included mass killings and gang-rapes executed with “genocidal intent”.

It was recently reported that Myanmar had conceded that it had committed “war crimes” against its Rohingya Muslim community. This is as far as Myanmar has ever gone in admitting responsibility for the atrocities committed against its Rohingya minority. Still, to some observers, this is not good enough.On 20 January, a Myanmar-appointed panel concluded that some soldiers likely committed war crimes against the Rohingya but that the military, however, was not guilty of genocide.

When the 34th ASEAN Summit concluded last month in Bangkok, Thailand, it came as no surprise that the bloc was met with heavy criticism for suggesting Rohingya refugees will repatriate back to Myanmar within two years. More than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee northern Rakhine state in western Myanmar during a 2017 military-led crackdown the United Nations (UN) has said included mass killings and gang-rapes executed with “genocidal intent”.