Word: burma
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...Burma's generals have led their nation astray. Obsessed with maintaining power above all else, the army has repeatedly turned its guns against its own people, most tragically in 1988 when a student-led protest movement was crushed, leaving some 3,000 dead. Nor do army leaders perceive threats to their authority coming only from inside the country. "Than Shwe grew up under colonial occupation by the British and the Japanese," says Thailand-based Burmese military analyst Win Min, "so he is a nationalist to the point of xenophobia [who] believes military rule is the only way to keep...
...Burma's top brass wasn't always so universally despised. Formerly a ragtag band of freedom fighters, the military helped the country free itself from British colonialism. Aung San, the father of democracy activist Suu Kyi, is revered both as an independence hero and as the founder of Burma's army. After independence in 1948, this group of beleaguered soldiers transformed itself into a professional force, opening the West Point-inspired Defense Services Academy. The military also burnished its legitimacy in another way, claiming to be the only force that could keep the country together. Burma is composed of more...
...quickly ruined one of Southeast Asia's most promising economies by unveiling the "Burmese Way to Socialism." The army took over colonial-era business concerns like shipping and banking. Even as civilians have grown poorer, the military continues to enrich itself through timber, mineral and natural-gas deals with Burma's neighbors. In 2005, the junta mysteriously moved the nation's capital from Rangoon to a new city called Naypyidaw, carved out of the jungle at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. A lavish military retreat complete with a man-made beach is also being built near Maymyo...
...During his Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 visit to Burma, U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari met both Than Shwe and Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won elections in 1990 that the junta ignored. Exile groups speculated these rare meetings might signal at least a token effort by the generals to address widespread international condemnation of last week's crackdown. Rumors that Than Shwe, who has been ill for years, has picked junta No. 3 Shwe Mann - a purported economic pragmatist - as his favored successor have also raised hopes. But a change of guard may not mean much...
...region has exploded with oil fever. Vietnam plans to explore in seven offshore blocks, Malaysia this summer launched the deepwater Kikeh field, and Indonesia expects production from its vast Cepu oil field to start next year. East Timor could earn at least $10 billion from the Gap, and Burma has discovered offshore fields that could contain 2.5 trillion cubic feet (70.8 billion cubic meters...