• Selected Stories
  • Reel
  • Words
  • Tweets
  • Blog
  • About
  • Menu

Lucy Kafanov

Independent Journalist
  • Selected Stories
  • Reel
  • Words
  • Tweets
  • Blog
  • About

New for USA Today: Burma's parliament enters democratic era after 54 years of military rule

March 04, 2016

YANGON, Myanmar — After more than five decades of isolation and repressive military rule, Myanmar on Monday swore in hundreds of lawmakers in its first freely elected parliament.

The inaugural session marked the start of a new era for Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, which has been under army control since 1962.

It follows a Nov. 8 election that saw Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party win two-thirds of available parliamentary seats and effectively rout the country’s military leaders. Suu Kyi won a landslide election in 1990 that was later annulled by the military.

Myanmar still faces a long road to full democracy. The military retains 25% of seats in parliament, giving it a veto over constitutional changes. It also still controls key sectors of the economy and ministries such as defense, interior and border affairs. In addition, the army can take over the government under emergency legislation.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Prev / Next

Thoughts, etc...

Updates, stories, thoughts and images by Lucy Kafanov that don't fit into 140 characters.  


Latest Posts

Blog
France's 'yellow vest' protesters hit Paris streets for fifth week
about 2 months ago
World War I Devastation and the American Hospital of Paris
about 2 months ago

Tweets

  • Lucy Kafanov
    “If you shoot a arrow and it goes real high, hooray for you.” — Dorian Corey
    about a week ago
  • Lucy Kafanov
    jesus again? https://t.co/iGuI02mv9J
    about 2 weeks ago
  • Lucy Kafanov
    RT @GhaziBalkiz: Behrouz Boochani: Refugee who wrote book using WhatsApp wins top prize https://t.co/ZYPy6WPM0v
    about 2 weeks ago
  • Lucy Kafanov
    RT @VelshiRuhle: President Trump doesn’t understand how the Midwest could be suffering from paralyzing cold temperatures in the age… https://t.co/CBdfGmLn0y
    about 2 weeks ago
  • Lucy Kafanov
    RT @jacobsoboroff: Mitch McConnell just mocked the idea of a national Election Day holiday on the Senate floor. Our turnout sucks —… https://t.co/DBuU5qRc1y
    about 2 weeks ago