YeinJee's Asian blog

Asian Culture, Lifestyle and Entertainment

Myanmar Blog

Myanmar blacklists Michelle Yeoh

by

Michelle Yeoh as Aung San Suu Kyi in The LadyMalaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, who’s starring as Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming Hollywood film, was deported from Myanmar on June 22 and is barred from entering the country indefinitely.

Officials in Myanmar didn’t explain why the actress is blacklisted, but it’s hard not to relate it with movie The Lady, which tells the story of Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Price laureate who was under house arrest by Myanmar’s military junta for almost 15 of the 21 years before her release in November 2010.

Despite being released, it seems that Suu Kyi’s freedom is still restricted in many ways. The Myanmar’s current military-backed government probably won’t want Michelle Yeoh to act as a spokesperson for Suu Kyi in the country.

Burma releases Aung San Suu Kyi

by

Burma releases Aung San Suu KyiThe military authorities in Burma have released pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi earlier today. The 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner (honoured in 1991) has been detained under house arrest for 15 years of the past 21 years.

Aung San Suu Kyi helped set up the National League for Democracy (NLD) party which won the 1990 general election despite her arrest a year earlier. But the military, which rules the Southeast Asian nation since 1962, refused to relinquish power.

Military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won the country’s first election in 20 years last Sunday. The ballot was widely condemned though.

Read more about Aung San Suu Kyi on BBC (news) and Wikipedia (bio).

Myanmar: before and after Cyclone Nargis

by

A comparison of satellite images of Myanmar’s Hainggyi Island before and after Cyclone Nargis on May 2. The top image was taken in late 2004, while the bottom one on May 5, 2008. It’s total destruction.

Satellite image of Myanmar before Cylone Nargis
Satellite image of Myanmar after Cylone Nargis

The cyclone made landfall in Myanmar on May 2, sending a storm surge 40 kilometres up the densely populated Irrawaddy delta. It’s estimated that 60,000-100,000 people have lost their lives, and many still missing.

Non existent relief effort

At least 1.5 million people are affected and required immediate aid. And sadly the country’s military government is blocking international help despite clearly incapable of handling the relieve efforts by themselves.

It’s only until two days ago, a week after the disaster, that they allowed food and medical supplies to pass the border. They are not allowing aid workers to go in though, which is creating other issues.

My friend who works with a Malaysian NGO said that many organisations have doubts over the locals’ ability to distribute to those in dire need. But I guess they have no choice but to hand over the supplies at the border to the military.

You can’t stop a natural disaster, but it’s a crime to deal with the aftermath like the Myanmar government. I hope this won’t turn into a human-made catastrophe.