Changes in Burma over the past year have been astounding, but as the country celebrates 64 years of independence, its people remain far from free.
Debate still rages over the sincerity of government reforms and the degree to which Aung San Suu Kyi, de facto leader of Burma’s opposition, should engage with a reform process dictated by the military. Her release from house arrest last November, after spending 15 of the past 21 years in detention, gave cause for optimism, but previous glimmers of hope have proved premature. In 1995, and again in 2002, Suu Kyi was released and reform promised. Both times, the ruling regime reverted to repression.
