Volume 5, Issue 17

October 10, 2019

Volume 5, Issue 17

World War Two veterans: Loyal to the last

A dwindling number of old men who fought with the British in World War Two are living contradictions to the myth that Myanmar’s people united against colonial rule.

BY Ben Dunant

Doh Athan, Editorial, Opinion

The government's pointless battles with ethnic activists

On October 2, hundreds of people – possibly even 1,000 – gathered in Maha Bandoola Park in Yangon to show support for activists Naw Ohn Hla, Saw Thein Zaw Min and Saw Albert Cho.

BY Frontier

News, Affairs, Features

A way of life under threat in the Kayin hills

Mining projects have a troubled history in Kayin State and the latest proposal has villagers worried about the fate of two mountains that have an essential role in their lives.

BY Win Zar Ni Aung & Sa Eh Sue

Bizfeed, Business, Features

Black market fills the gap as drug quotas create shortage of opioids

Low domestic production and strict controls on the import and distribution of opioid medicines has created a shortage of pain-killing drugs, forcing some to turn to the burgeoning black market for relief.

BY Kyaw Ye Lynn

Bizfeed, Affairs, Business

After the gold rush, fierce competition in Myanmar's telecoms sector

Five years after the government liberalised Myanmar’s telecom sector, there is now fierce competition between four operators. That’s great for consumers, who enjoy the lowest data rates in Southeast Asia – but not so much for the companies that have invested in licence fees and infrastructure.

BY Konrad Staehelin

News Feed, Bizfeed, News, Affairs, Business, Features

‘Tip of the iceberg’: finance minister pledges to address illicit trade

Smuggling is costing the government heavily in lost revenue; poor enforcement means that for every 5,000 cans of beer brought into the country illegally, only one is seized.

BY Thomas Kean

Sithu Aung Myint, Opinion

Discord and manoeuvring over ‘national security’

The reluctance of the government to convene the powerful National Defence and Security Council has attracted the ire of the Tatmadaw and the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party.

BY Sithu Aung Myint

Opinion

Peace through development: China’s experiment in Myanmar

Recurring conflict and military stalemate in northern Myanmar have prompted China to embark on a bold experiment – one with implications that Nay Pyi Taw might not yet even comprehend.

BY Yun Sun

News Feed, Photo Essays, News, Features

Visions of hell: inside Yangon’s pig slaughterhouses

A visit to the riverside slaughterhouses in Yangon’s Insein Township where pigs are butchered every night is an experience best avoided by the squeamish.

BY Frontier & Frontier

News Feed, News, Affairs, Features

Myanmar’s invisible prosecutors: their powers and the pressures they face

The “law officers” who prosecute criminal cases in Myanmar should be important players in determining which cases go to trial, but their role – and the informal pressures they face to either drop or proceed with charges – receive little public scrutiny.

BY Ye Mon

Features, Culture

Beyond gallery walls: Yangon’s graffiti artists

Graffiti flourished in Yangon a decade ago, but the number of artists has since slumped by more than half, and some say the scene never developed its own style.

BY Min Pyae Sone