Burma’s electoral dilemmas
by Daniel Pedersen on Apr.26, 2010, under Frontline Reports
Successıon strategy
www.ashleysouth.co.uk
Rangoon, BurmaApril 26, 2010
The Burmese people are probably about to get their first chance to vote in twenty years. Things did not go well last time; the military prevented the winners taking power. Now, new groups are emerging to try to take advantage of the limited opportunities on offer. The Burmese military government issued five laws on March 8, providing a framework for elections which are likely to be held later this year. While a number of opposition activists and politicians will boycott the polls, others are preparing to participate in the first opportunity to vote since 1990. The elections are the brainchild of junta supremo, Senior General Than Shwe, and represent his ‘succession strategy’ – a way of easing himself out of the day-to-day running of the country, while ensuring that no single person can consolidate power, and represent a threat to his continued pre-eminence behind-the-scenes.
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"Secret Genocide is a scholarly book on the plight of the Karen of Burma. Author Daniel Pedersen writes about the secret genocide of the Karen people at the hands of the Burmese junta, who use murder, rape, forced labour and torture to quell their enemies. Decades after the Karen took up arms against Rangoon; there is no telling when - or if - their struggle for a secure homeland will finally be accomplished"
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Secret Genocide by publisher Maverick House. >>> Read prologue.
