Myanmar: A new dawn

As Myanmar emerges slowly from five decades of dictatorship, will it ever catch up with its more prosperous neighbours?


After almost half a century of authoritarian rule, Myanmar (or Burma) is gradually coming in from the cold, dark years of repression and dictatorship giving way to new industries and culture – driven by both, the growing interest of foreign investors and the gradual softening of political criticism and sanctions from the US, Europe and others.

The latest signs of this renaissance came earlier this month when US Secretary of State John Kerry flew in to tell the country's leaders that while they still had some considerable distance to travel along the path to democracy (Burma's as-yet unresolved regional ethnic conflicts, attitudes towards its Muslim Rohingya minority and recent unwelcome signs of media suppression to name but a few issues of concern), the US believed the country was making progress and the Obama administration was keen to encourage further political and legal reforms.

However, as Kerry would have seen had he ventured into the countryside, there still is a clear divide between those benefiting from the new world, and those struggling to survive in old Burma. Prosperity – or anything approaching it – is still a long way off. Most of Myanmar's 60 million people have yet to experience the full benefits of that growing freedom and the country – though rich in natural resources - remains one of most deprived in the world.