Rebecca Lee SanchezJune 6, 2013 21:28

Aung San Suu Kyi talks presidency, poverty and rule of law at World Economic Forum

Three years into government reform, Suu Kyi says it's time for Myanmar to see results.

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Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at a press conference during the World Economic Forum on East Asia at the Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyidaw on June 6, 2013. Aung San Suu Kyi on June 6 declared her intention to run for president, calling for all of the country's people to share the fruits of its dramatic reforms. AFP PHOTO / Soe Than WIN (Photo credit should read Soe Than WIN/AFP/Getty Images) (Soe Than Win/AFP/Getty Images)

Aung San Suu Kyi, chairman of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD), candidly reiterated her desire to hold presidential office earlier today, on the first day of the World Economic Forum, taking place in Myanmar’s capital city of Naypyidaw.

Released from house arrest in 2010 after serving 15 years for dissenting against the ruling military, she presently serves as a member of parliament from the Kawhmu constituency, and said the country’s constitution must be amended in order to create the possibility for a Suu Kyi presidency.

A clause in the current constitution bans anyone with a foreign spouse or child from running for office. Michael Aris, Suu Kyi’s late husband, was English and their two sons hold British passports. When asked about the likelihood of changes being made, she said she does not believe in indulging optimism, but rather will “work for the constitution to be amended.”

Correspondent Patrick Winn tackles questions on Myanmar

Hannah SmithJune 5, 2013 15:38

Winn is based in Bangkok, Thailand, but has done extensive work in Myanmar detailing human rights violations, the status of the country's refugee camps and the struggle as Myanmar tries to emerge from decades of military rule. He answered questions from the public on Reddit. Here's the highlights.

Southeast Asian leaders converge on Myanmar for World Economic Forum on East Asia

Patrick Winn and Freya PetersenJune 3, 2013 08:25

BANGKOK — Heads of state, business moguls, academics and their entourages are flocking to Myanmar to talk shop in what has fast become Asia's most drooled-over economy.

Suu Kyi condemns Myanmar Rohingya two-child limit policy

Daniel DeFraia and Patrick WinnMay 27, 2013 09:12

Suu Kyi has drawn much international criticism for not defending in more explicit terms the estimated 800,000 Rohingya, especially after ethnic violence last year killed at least 192 people and displaced 140,000.

Thein Sein: Myanmar president to make historic visit to US

Alexander BesantMay 13, 2013 14:11

Thein Sein, Myanmar's reformer president, will make a historic trip to the United States in the near future, according to reports on state television.

On Location Video: Rocky path to peace in Myanmar's Kachin state

Christopher Symes and Anthony NeilFebruary 5, 2013 07:01

After decades of conflict and several broken cease-fires, the Kachin people say they are reluctant to trust the Myanmar government.

Charles M. SennottDecember 13, 2012 15:15

Copper mine strikes raise questions in Myanmar

Copper mine strikes have raised questions about China's 'soft power' in Myanmar. The government's response has raised questions about Myanmar's move toward democracy.

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A man holds a banner during a protest in Yangon on December 2, 2012 against a Chinese-backed copper mine in Monywa in northern Myanmar. (Soe Than Win/AFP/Getty Images)

YANGON, Myanmar – A stream of protesters, many of them Buddhist monks clad in saffron robes, trickled through the capital Monday as part of what observers here say is a growing movement against the government’s brutal crackdown on strikers at a Chinese-backed copper mining project in the northwest.

Hundreds of protesters carried placards and chanted a phrase that has become their slogan: “Violence is not the solution.”

David L. PhillipsNovember 19, 2012 18:06

Op-Ed: Myanmar is a test of US engagement in Asia

Human rights groups say that President Obama's trip to Myanmar was premature, but it was the right decision.

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US President Barack Obama speaks as Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi listens in Yangon on November 19, 2012. Huge crowds greeted Barack Obama in Myanmar on the first visit by a serving US president to the former pariah state to encourage a string of startling political reforms. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORK — President Barack Obama’s trip to Myanmar this week is the first by a sitting US president. Human rights groups say the trip was premature and that it is too early in Myanmar’s reform process to grant President Thein Sein the benefits of a US presidential visit.

For sure, more work is needed to consolidate peace and progress in Myanmar. But Obama made the right decision.

A visit from the US president encourages Sein to continue down the path of reform, while validating the Burmese people’s demands for freedom. The visit also underscores a central feature of the Obama administration’s foreign policy: the idea that engagement is critical to encouraging a more open and democratic system.

Nicola PardyNovember 9, 2012 16:08

Is President Obama's visit to Myanmar premature?

Obama will be the first sitting US president to visit Myanmar, but a chorus of voices is urging him to wait for further reforms.

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US President Barack Obama listens to Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi speak before a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House September 19, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

President Obama has announced that he will visit Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, on his tour of Southeast Asia at the end of this month. Obama will be the first sitting US president to visit the Southeast Asian nation.

The president’s visit will be the strongest endorsement from the international community since Myanmar’s government began a democratization process last year. But critics are calling the visit premature. Despite Sein’s reforms, which have minimized media censorship, strengthened local currency and initiated peace talks with rebel groups, much of Myanmar remains unchanged.

Along the Burma Road, China navigates path to energy security

Jeff HoweOctober 29, 2012 06:09

Special Report: The Burma Road serves as the gateway between Myanmar and the rising empire on its border. It is the central trade route feeding China’s voracious appetite for the resources — including energy, natural resources and food — it desperately needs to sustain its population of 1 billion people. Here China’s pervasive presence, its sophisticated exertion of soft power, is evident at every turn.