New Mandala

A Chinese company is currently intending to build a hydroelectric dam on the Nam Tha river in northwestern Laos (other dams are being planned on the Nam Ou, also with Chinese funds). The project is called Nam Tha 1, which means maybe that there will be more dams in the near future(?). Four Chinese experts are currently [...]

[Read more →]

Â
From a New Mandala reader:
This photo is a small part of a prayer vigil held tonight outside the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok. Several hundred people attended and listened to information from several faith groups. The event passed without incident under the watchful eyes of dozens of Thai policemen.

[Read more →]

Japan is an important investor in Burma (both in the form of private investment and development assistance) so Japanese reaction to the death of journalist Kenji Nagai is worth following. A colleague in Japan, Taka Furuichi, provides this brief summary of the press reaction:
Death of a Japanese journalist, Kenji Nagai, working for Tokyo-based video production company APF News Inc., [...]

[Read more →]

I am not in the habit of spreading rumours but…Â
There have been a number of unverifiable pieces of information swirling around over the past 24 hours that suggest increasing division among the ranks of the Burmese Armed Forces.  It has been very difficult to confirm what is going on.  Some comments on New Mandala alluded to these issues but [...]

[Read more →]

For something a bit different, members of New Mandala’s audience who read Spanish may find this very recent article from the newspaper Público is worth a look.  It describes relations between China and Burma at this critical time and gives an overview of conditions along their shared frontier.

[Read more →]

This upcoming event at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) has been brought to my attention.  If any New Mandala readers attend and would like to provide a report of the discussion please get in contact. Â
Roundtable Discussion on Recent Events in Myanmar (Burma)
Friday, September 28, 2007, 4:00-5:00 pm
1636 SSWB/International Institute, 1080 S. University, University of Michigan (Ann [...]

[Read more →]

Southeast Asian repression has many facets. Here is a brief account from an informed observer in northern Laos about the local aftermath of the alleged Vang Pao plot:
Last June and July in Huayxai, and in the whole Bokeo province, political and military tensions occurred in the aftermath of the arrest of Vang Pao early June in [...]

[Read more →]

Â
It’s not Rangoon but democracy loving Canberra. The Sydney Morning Herald (the source of this photo) reports:Â
A protest of about 60 Burmese pro-democracy activists were met with heavy police presence at a protest outside the Burmese embassy in Canberra this afternoon. Chanting “we want democracy” and “free Burma”, the group of mainly older Burmese-Australian men [...]

[Read more →]

This post is a follow-up to the New Mandala interview with Paul Handley posted on 19 September 2007.Â
Thanks for all the comments and interest in The King Never Smiles. I’m still a bit frustrated over the lack of discussion here and elsewhere over specific themes and content of the book. Everyone still focuses on the book’s existence [...]

[Read more →]

Several New Mandala readers have brought our attention to this latest junta madness. Thai junta head General Sonthi made these comments about the situation in Burma on Thai television last night. (I am not sure who is responsbile for the transcription/translation, but thanks.)
Regarding the dispersal of demonstrations, the Burmese government did not use military force. Police [...]

[Read more →]