Myanmar conflict

Sunday's vote will likely deliver a government with a strong popular mandate – a rarity in mainland Southeast Asia – but ethnic minorities will be left out in the cold.

Myanmar's electoral system concentrates power in the hands of the Burman majority, the root cause of decades of civil conflict.

While calls for a pause in violence are notable, it remains to be seen whether they will be heeded or can be sustained and translated into positive developments.

Building trust between the Tatmadaw and the ethnic armed groups is the starting point of the path to peace.

Though the record seizure deserves mention, focus on such developments also obscures the massive scale of the problem.

The country’s shift in its alignments is about more than just China and the United States.

Special rapporteur observes “a growing atmosphere of fear, distrust and hostility.”