Prisms on the Golden Pagoda: Perspectives on National Reconciliation in Myanmar

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Edited by Kyaw Yin Hlaing
Contributions by Kyaw Yin Hlaing, Thamarr Taman, U Shwe Ohn, Widura Thakin Chit Maung, Robert H. Taylor, Derek Tonkin and Lian H. Sakhong

Just as the prismatic effects of glass mosaics or mirrors produce the spectrums of colour that give Myanmar s pagodas their glittering iridescence, Prisms on the Golden Pagoda offers a spectrum of views on the country's national reconciliation process. Because many of Myanmar's outlying ethnic groups straddle the country's borders with neighbouring countries in South and Southeast Asia and with China, the outcome of this process is crucial not only for the country's current domestic liberalization but also for regional geopolitics.

The editor of this volume, Kyaw Yin Hlaing is a US-trained academic who currently serves as an advisor to Myanmar's President. He has assembled contributions from veteran activists such as the Shan leader U Shwe Ohn, the Chin politician Lian H. Sakhong, Widura Thakin Chit Maung, once leader of Burma's "Red Socialists", and Thamarr Taman, formerly a senior civil servant. Commentary by the editor, and by Robert H Taylor and British diplomat-turned activist Derek Tonkin, explains the context and significance of these materials. By showing how the national reconciliation effort has been viewed inside the country, the contributors provide an important insider's perspective on Myanmar's difficult legacies of violence and separatism.

"...the book is a must-read for those interested in Burma." - Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung, University of Massachusetts Lowell


Kyaw Yin Hlaing is Director of the Political Dialogue Program at the Myanmar Peace Center and the Center for Diversity and National Harmony, as well as Advisor to the President of Myanmar. He was formerly Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian and International Studies at the City University of Hong Kong and is one of the founding members of Myanmar Egress.


Publication Year: 2014
268 pages, 229mm x 152mm
Paperback
ISBN: 978-9971-69-636-8

NUS Press