Far and Away: Reporting from the Brink of Change

443 Myanmar’s release of eleven hundred political prisoners was acknowledged in a 2014 report by Tomás Ojea Quintana, UN human rights rapporteur for Burma; see Samantha Michaels, “Quintana releases final report on Burma human rights,” Irrawaddy, March 14, 2014.

443 The initial US relaxation of sanctions against Burma is reported in Karen De Young, “Ban on U.S. investment in Burma is lifted,” Washington Post, July 11, 2012.

444 Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest is reported in Tracy McVeigh, “Aung San Suu Kyi ‘released from house arrest,’ ” Guardian, November 13, 2010; the NLD’s victory in the 2012 general elections, in Esmer Golluoglu, “Aung San Suu Kyi hails ‘new era’ for Burma after landslide victory,” Guardian, April 2, 2012.

445 Paradoxically, at least one Burmese commentator regarded Ma Thida’s early release from prison as a cynical PR ploy on the part of the military junta; see Aung Zaw, “The SPDC’s diplomatic gambit,” Irrawaddy, February 1999.

446 Aung San Suu Kyi, op. cit.

446 The artist Aye Ko discusses his work in Whitney Light, “Pressing questions with Aye Ko,” Myanmar Times, May 18, 2014.

446 Lu Maw and his brother, the late Par Par Lay, were imprisoned after a performance by their comedy troupe in 1996; see Philip Heijmans, “Skirting comedy limits in Myanmar,” New York Times, July 29, 2015.

446 In addition to his role as mayor, Ko Min Latt is also editor of the Mon-language newspaper Than Lwin Times; see Banyar Kong Janoi, “Pushing for ethnic language media in a changing Burma,” Asia Calling, November 10, 2012.

446 Moe Satt, too, has aroused official suspicion of his art; see Hillary Luong, “Artists detained by Myanmar police,” Art Asia Pacific, June 8, 2012.

447 Nay Phone Latt’s journalistic bravery earned him a place on Time magazine’s 2010 Time 100 roster; see Salman Rushdie, “Heroes: Nay Phone Latt,” Time, April 29, 2010. For a recent interview, see “Nay Phone Latt speaks,” Myanmar Times, March 3, 2014.

447 Thant Myint-U, grandson of former UN secretary-general U Thant, is a prolific author on political topics and chairman of Yangon Heritage Trust, which seeks to document the history of historical architecture, establish zoning laws, and preserve urban architecture in Yangon; the organization’s website is at http://yangonheritagetrust.org.

447 For a recent article featuring Sammy Samuels, see Joe Freeman, “Myanmar’s Jewish vote,” Tablet, November 9, 2015. Sammy Samuels’s travel agency, Myanmar Shalom, can be found online at http://myanmarshalom.com.

448 The dramatic expansion of the mobile-phone industry in Myanmar is discussed in Jason Motlagh, “When a SIM card goes from $2,000 to $1.50,” Bloomberg Business, September 29, 2014; Michael Tan, “One million SIM cards sold in Myanmar,” CNET, October 2, 2014; and Jared Ferrie, “SIM sales soar as Myanmar races to catch up in telecoms,” Reuters, May 6, 2015.

448 Responding to safety concerns, Myanmar has recently passed legislation requiring left-hand drive on new car imports; see Kyaw Hsu Mon, “Govt to push left-hand steering wheels on future car imports,” Irrawaddy, November 25, 2014; and Aye Nyein Win, “Right-hand drives to remain on the roads,” Myanmar Times, October 23, 2015.

449 Statistics on child nutrition in Myanmar come from UNICEF, “Country statistics: Myanmar,” UNICEF, 2015.

450 For a detailed analysis of the contribution of tourism to Myanmar’s economy, see Rochelle Turner et al., “Travel and tourism: Economic impact 2015: Myanmar,” World Travel and Tourism Council, 2015.

450 More background on Burmese history can be found in Michael Aung-Thwin and Maitrii Aung-Thwin, A History of Myanmar since Ancient Times (2012).

451 For more detail on the 1988 student uprisings, see British Broadcasting Corporation, “Burma’s 1988 protests,” BBC News, September 25, 2007; and Rodion Ebbighausen, “Myanmar: The uprising of 1988,” Deutsche Welle, August 8, 2013.

452 Full text of the “Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2008)” can be found on the website of the World Intellectual Property Organization, http://wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/mm/mm009en.pdf. For discussion of the constitution’s problematic aspects and efforts to reform it, see Thomas Fuller, “Myanmar’s leader backs change to constitution,” New York Times, January 2, 2014; Jared Ferrie, “Myanmar president enacts law allowing referendum on disputed constitution,” Reuters, February 12, 2015; and Thomas Fuller, “Myanmar’s military uses political force to block constitutional changes,” New York Times, June 15, 2015.