Burma Project

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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.
The Kachin Crisis: Peace Must Prevail

As 2012 progressed, perceptions of the real nature of change under the Thein Sein government were challenged by a series of disturbing events in which serious violence and mass displacement of civilians occurred in several parts of the country.
Developing Disparity

Unless foreign direct investment in Burma's war-torn borderlands is refocused towards people-centered development, it is likely to deepen disparity between the region’s most neglected peoples and Burma's new military, business and political elite and exacerbate a decades-long civil war.
Ethnic Peace and Political Participation

Ceasefires have been agreed; the NLD has elected representatives in the national legislatures; Western sanctions are being lifted; and the World Bank and other international agencies are returning to set up office in the country. Such developments are likely to have a defining impact on ethnic politics, which remains one of the central challenges facing the country today.
Drugs and Conflict in Burma

Burma/Myanmar is undergoing yet another humanitarian crisis while entering a new critical political stage. In the Kokang region, an opium ban was enforced in 2003, and since mid-2005 no more poppy growing has been allowed in the Wa region. Banning opium in these Shan State regions where most of the Burmese opiates were produced, adds another chapter to the long and dramatic history of drugs, conflict and human suffering.

Burma has been exposed to some of the longest running armed conflicts in the world. Ethnic nationality peoples have felt marginalised and discriminated against. TNI has developed a unique expertise on Burma's ethnic regions. TNI's work on drugs and conflict in Burma brings together its long-term work on international drugs policies, and its in-depth research on the regional drug market in Burma and neighbouring countries. TNI proposes alternative policy responses. Read more: Ethnic Conflict in Burma and Drugs & Conflict in Burma

Articles

Why peace and land security is key to Burma's democratic future

Tom Kramer

Analysis of the social costs of large-scale Chinese-supported rubber farms in northern Burma suggests that the future for ordinary citizens will be affected as much by the country's chosen economic path as the political reforms underway.

Tackle Burma's Drugs Problem

Martin Jelsma

Tom Kramer

Policy priorities should focus on how best to manage and reduce the many health and social harms associated with the reality of a persistent and ever changing drugs market.

International community must support non‐military solutions in northern Myanmar

TNI

Following new eruptions of violence in northern Myanmar, civil society organizations have issued a statement calling for urgent international engagement and dialogue to support non-military solutions.

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Publications

Political Reform in Burma/Myanmar and Consequences for Ethnic Conflict

TNI & Burma Centrum Netherlands

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

Burma at the Crossroads

The people of Burma are at a critical juncture in their struggle for democracy and ethnic reform. Decisions taken by leading parties and protagonists in the months ahead could well define the direction of national politics for many years to come.

Assessing Burma/Myanmar’s New Government

Burma is in the midst of its most important period of political transition in over two decades. TNI and BCN hosted a conference to look at the challenges and opportunities in five key areas: politics, ethnic relations, the economy, social and humanitarian affairs, and the international landscape.

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