Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won the country’s first free nationwide election in a quarter of a century with the slogan “time for change”. After decades of oppression and long periods under house arrest, just taking power is a momentous achievement for the pro-democracy activist known to locals as “the lady”. Yet when she takes effective charge of the resource-rich nation on April 1, her first challenge will be to build on the rapid reforms undertaken by the previous regime.
Myanmar doesn’t look like a country that has endured decades of Western-led sanctions. Visitors to Yangon encounter a bustling Asian emerging market, where wealthy locals eat at KFC and shop for Calvin Klein products in air-conditioned malls. Taxi drivers own smart phones. Small boutique hotels serving high quality French food can even be found a bumpy six-hour drive away from the country’s biggest city.
Myanmar is already one of the world’s fastest-growing nations. The economy probably expanded by 8.5 percent in the year ending this March, the International Monetary Fund reckons. Outgoing President Thein Sein’s semi-civilian government ushered in a wave of reforms after taking over after almost 50 years of military rule in 2011. At the time, Europe and the United States rewarded the tentative transition by easing sanctions. (Courtesy of Reuters)
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