South East Asia

Struggle in resource-rich state weighs in on new political system. The Kachin conflict is a unique test case, says Tom Kramer, a Myanmar-based analyst with the Transnational Institute.

About 40 ethnic activist groups are calling on the government, ethnic militias and the international community to address a surge in land-grabbing, as companies move into Burma’s ethnic regions following recent ceasefire agreements.

An advisor to President Thein Sein met with a group of ethnic activists in Naypyidaw on Friday and tried to assuage their concerns over a recent rise in land conflicts in Burma’s ethnic areas.

The general public and Myanmar’s mainstream media have little awareness of ethnic concerns, said Yangon-based Tom Kramer from the Transnational Institute (TNI).

The reform process in Burma/Myanmar by the quasi-civilian government of President Thein Sein has raised hopes that a long overdue solution can be found to more than 60 years of devastating civil war.

Public dialogue on the Rohingya issue has become so polarized that “it is hard to say anything and stay neutral,” said Tom Kramer, who runs the Myanmar office of the Transnational Institute [...]

While there have been undeniably positive trends in Burma over the past year, these have not yet been translated into ethnic peace and justice. 

101 East  takes a rare look into Myanmar's forgotten corners, and follows the country's leaders as they navigate a fragile path to peace.

On December 15th 2012 Sombath Somphone disappeared, taken away in a truck by unknown persons after being stopped by police in the Lao capital, Vientiane. Nobody has seen or heard from him since.Today, March 25th 2013, is the 100th day since Sombath’s disappearance.

“There is no silver bullet,” Tom Kramer, a political scientist for the think tank Transnational Institute (TNI) told TIME. “The root cause is poverty. Access to health, education — if this is not addressed, you will not solve the problem.”