Human Wrongs Watch
Yangon, (IRIN*) – As millions of Burmese go to the polls on 1 April, expectations are high for real change. Across this Southeast Asian nation and abroad there is an unprecedented sense of hope not seen in decades following a wave of political reforms now described by Myanmar’s own government as “irreversible”.
**Temples at Mrauk U. Photo by Jmhullot | Wikimedia Commons
But taking this impoverished nation out of international isolation won’t be easy. In recent years, the country has made front-page headlines across the globe in times of crisis, including the failed Saffron Revolution – the demonstrations by Buddhist monks in 2007 that were brutally suppressed – and the devastating impact of Cyclone Nargis in 2008, when more than 140,000 people lost their lives and over two million people were affected.
