Talks with Burma are no laughing matter
Distasteful as it is to sit down with the generals, it is the right thing to do. Isolating Burma has pushed it towards China, writes David Pilling
Burma
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Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s opposition leader and Nobel laureate, has been sentenced to serve a further 18 months for violating conditions of her house arrest
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Burma to execute whistleblowers
Two former government officials have been sentenced to death after leaking information about sensitive military contacts with China and North Korea, say exile sources
US warns Burma on election credibility
No immediate plans to lift sanctions
US resumes talks with Burmese junta
Highest-level talks for 14 years
Burma generals signal flexibility on Suu Kyi
Possibility that arrest measures may be relaxed
€35m EU aid signals fresh approach to Burma
Attempt to alleviate country’s poverty
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Burmese Daze
Amy Kazmin, the FT’s South Asia correspondent, who travelled to Burma in May 2009, reports on the challenges military ruled Burma poses for international policy maker
Burma opens Suu Kyi trial
Effort to calm outrage over the case
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Burma’s ethnic militias play waiting game
Burma’s military wants to regain control over the ceasefire zones that have been carved out of the mountainous east over 20 years as part of ceasefire deals between the generals who run the country and armed ethnic groups
Into the delta: How foreign aid may bring a better future for Burma
The relief effort now reaching the cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy area could precede a wider thaw in foreign relations, though the generals already show signs of wanting a return to isolation
Talking to Burma
Now that contact has been re-established, western officials should hold out the prospect of gradually lifting sanctions in return for tangible progress on democracy and human rights. But until the generals respond with concrete actions, they should remain just that: prospects
Crises test resilience of Burma’s farmers
After a year of misfortune, which began with Cyclone Nargis, millions of rice producers now face ruin as moneylenders profit and setbacks mount
Burmese junta aims to win hearts and minds
The military regime is backing community projects in an attempt to gain favour with voters ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections
