Word: kyi
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...speculation that the junta's No. 2, General Maung Aye, was opposing any violence. Then, army troops opened fire, killing at least 10 people in Rangoon. On Sunday, democracy advocates regained a modicum of hope when visiting United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari was allowed to meet with Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won elections in 1990 that the junta ignored. Exile websites wondered whether this meeting meant that more moderate officers were holding sway. Rumors also abounded that Than Shwe's family had fled the country. But Burma's military has ruled with an iron grip...
...country's martial links began long before these two generals rose to power. Formerly a ragtag band of freedom fighters, the military helped Burma free itself from British colonialism. Aung San, the father of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate and democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, is revered both as an independence hero and as the founder of Burma's army. After independence in 1948, this group of rather beleaguered soldiers transformed itself into a professional force. A Defense Services Academy modeled after West Point opened its doors. The Defense Services Institute took over colonial-era business concerns like shipping...
...strong, making it one of the largest militaries per capita in the world. Any signs of internal dissent within the armed forces are quickly suppressed. General Khin Nyunt, the former head of military intelligence who was once hailed as a potential reformer for suggesting dialogue with democracy leader Suu Kyi, now languishes under house arrest on corruption charges. Dissident groups in neighboring Thailand are peopled with former army officers who had the temerity to suggest alternative ways to run the country. "Burma's military is a breed apart, and its biggest accomplishment is the sense of loyalty that...
That's a long way from the days when India backed the pro-democracy movement of Aung San Suu Kyi, the celebrated opposition leader who, in 1993, Delhi awarded the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award. Within years, India had begun wooing Burma's junta, a relationship publicly cemented when strongman Than Shwe visited India...
...course, no amount of Buddhist mantras chanted in Suu Kyi's name are likely to convince Burma's generals to give up power quietly. They have ruled with an iron grip, and with impunity, for nearly half a century, and have already brutally crushed one major democracy movement. With the clashes on Sept. 26, the regime once again displayed its capacity for violence. Burma's burgundy revolutionaries can only pray that their robes will not be stained further - by the color of blood...