Myanmar

Myanmar is ace of the most underdeveloped countries in the world. Despite its lush natural resources, the expanse formerly known as Burma has remained among Asias struggling economies, so far the office that its neighbor, Thailand, has periodically rebounded from the boom-bust cycle of the international preservation, including 1990s Asian Financial Crisis. plain if there be economic pitfalls like these, Myanmar has incessantly been known for its ii social pillars the Buddhist monks and the Burmese military.For years, the these two socio- semipolitical institutions have always been drag in a love-hate relationship especially in amassing the support of the Burmese population, as evidenced in the current political crisis engulfing all of Myanmar today. On the another(prenominal)(prenominal) hand, it is important to note that Myanmar was a former direct British colony, from 1824-1886 and subsequently became a province of India until it gained full independence in 1948. Bu rmese history post-independence though may be best described as a waltz mingled with the exercise of democracy and the iron snatch of the Burmese military institution, as the Burmese military military junta has always wielded political and economic power in Burma since the time of Gen.Ne arrive at until today, under the leadership of Gen. Than Shwe. Presently, several indicators may serve to show the take of ontogeny Burma has reached the Per Capita Gross Domestic Product (PCGDP), Literacy Rate, and the Life Expectancy. These three be very important indices in determining whether or not the Burmese giving medication and its people are boffo in substantially improving the lives of members of their society.The Burmese PCGDP is pegged at $1,800 (2006 est.), a far cry from the $9,200 (2006 est.) PCGDP of its neighbor Thailand and eventide its similarly situated neighbor Laos whose PCGDP is at $ 2,200. (cia.gov) On the other hand, Burma has been successful in ensuring that ma jority of its population toilet read and write, as its 89.9% literacy stray is only a few percentages lower than Thailands 92.6%. Life expectation in Burma is as well very low at 62.52 years old, trance Thailands flavour foresight is at 72.55 years old. Actually, the carriage expectancy in more underdeveloped neighbor Bangladesh is slightly higher than the Burmese average, at 62.84 years old. (cia.gov)Over and above the usual economic explanations as to the depressing levels of poverty in Burma, a major basis for the keep economic underdevelopment in Burma shall always be the dominating rule of the Burmese regime and the patent lack of democracy and freedom in the country.A main factor for the stunting of the Burmese economy is the strict administration controls on all sectors of the economy by the ruling junta. Even as the world has already started embracing the principle of eliminating barriers to international trade, the Burmese economy continues to institute question able economic policies such as a perverted interest frame up regime and multiple official exchange scores. (cia.gov)Moreover, the discount control of the Burmese military junta to the world has in addition resulted in a lukewarm investment climate, diminishing foreign assistance by developed countries, and economic sanctions, especially payable to its protracted and continued crack vanquish on pro-democracy dissidents including Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Such an unfortunate economic and political situation would definitely lead to dire results insofar as man development is concerned, the result of which would be the low life expectancy of the Burmese people.To a certain extent, it is very safe to surmise that the low life expectancy can be logically attributed to the failures of years of military junta rule in delivering basic social services to the people. Had the Burmese government been very legal in delivering primary healthcare to its destitute country side notwithstanding ensuring sustained food security, the necessary consequence of such a situation would perhaps lead to a higher life expectancy rate than what Burma currently faces.Apparently, if one looks at the CIA world ranking on life expectancy, Burma at 168th place would find itself in the comp any(prenominal) of countries and states which had histories of problematic governments and states which do not necessarily hold the interest of their peoples at heart due to pervasive corruption, civil strife, among others. (cia.gov) On the other hand, it would seem surprising that an impoverished country like Burma would have such a high literacy rate of 89.9%, especially as similarly situated underdeveloped countries such as Haiti and Cambodia have very low literacy rates, at 52.9% and 50.2%, respectively.The explanation for this would perhaps finesse on the fundamental interest of the Burmese junta to educate and unify the people towards assimilating themselves to the legitimac y of the authoritarian regime, as an uneducated people would definitely plant the seeds of civil unrest and challenge the regime. This conjecture is offered in the light of similarly high literacy rates in other authoritarian yet impoverished regimes the world over, such as Cuba and North Korea, twain of which have literacy rate of 99%. (cia.gov)The primordial prerequisite for the economic development of Burma today needs more than a simple implementation of easiness measures in its economy, as the basic problem lies in the very anatomical structure of its institutions, particularly the manner by which the Burmese government wields power. If there is no room for discussion of different economic theories and policies which have worked for countless other impoverished nations, no shift towards economic liberalization and deregulation policies can ever be hoped in Burma as an authoritarian government shall always tend to believe only the policies and theories which it would want to pursue and implement.While a vast majority of the Burmese people is literate enough, it cannot be verbalise fully at this point whether their literacy actually amounts to the development of countless professionals, scientists, engineers and masterly workers, as their poorly planned economy remains in shambles. In the ultimate analysis, prior to any economic cure which may be instituted to jumpstart its economic for the development of its resources and its people, a political solution must(prenominal) decisively be done if Burma is to move progressively and proactively forwards as a nation.Works CitedBurma. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved from November 20, 2007. November 15, 2007. Thailand. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved from https//www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html, November 20, 2007. November 15, 2007. Rank baffle GDP per capita (PPP). CIA World Factbook. November 20, 2007. November 15, 2007. Rank Order Life expectancy at birth. CIA World Fact book. November 20, 2007. November 15, 2007.MyanmarThis essay will investigate the role of escorts in the medias presentation of current events using the example of Myanmar/Burma protests. It is a well-known scientific fact that humans absorb the greatest amount of information through the visual channel therefore, contemporary media places a significant emphasis on the use of effective images in the presentation of news. Images coupled with specific expression are the most powerful tool of framing public intercourse concerning current events.As for the background information about the crisis in Myanmar/Burma, there has been a series of protests against human rights abuses and crackdown on ethnic minorities going on in the country since late August. The protests have been started by monks and supported by ordinary citizens. In late September, the military government of Myanmar/Burma responded with the police hysteria and arrests. Such a response sparked a wave of internationa l indignation, and two Myanmar/Burma activists and their supporters abroad call upon the international institutions to take a decisive effect to solve the crisis that has not been fully settled yet.For the purposes of this essay, three most prestigious news media providers were selected, namely CNN, BBC, and Reuters. There is little variation in their theatrical of the events in Myanmar/Burma, yet each news provider uses its own set of images to communicate its pass along to its target audience.CNN launched a series of articles tracking down all the developments of the situation in Myanmar/Burma. The article Satellite photos may climb up abuses in Myanmar/Burma, researchers say (CNN, 2007) is accompanied by a photograph screening a crowd of monks on a demonstration who are environ by other citizens. Deep red apparel of the monks contrasts with predominantly exsanguinous clothes of other citizens, yet this photograph communicates a powerful message that many Myanmar/Burma cit izens are united around the noble cause of confronting their government because of human rights abuses.The photograph is likely taken from the plane or any spot high above the Earth surface. This very fact reminds the westerly viewer that many media channels are banned from doing on-the-ground reporting from Myanmar/Burma. It upgrade amplifies the perception of the Myanmar/Burma government as authoritarian and undemocratic one.The thing that is probably missing from the image is the presence of authorities. It is well-known that streets of major Myanmar/Burma cities are fill up with the police and sometimes special forces. While the image effectively captures the calm spirit of the protests and high level of self-organization, it fails to convey the atmosphere of confrontation between citizens and authorities.BBC frames the story with a noticeable human touch. British media is known to heighten on the human factor before examining international political implications of a cert ain event. The story titled Monks severe to escape Rangoon (BBC, 2007) goes together with a photograph of two young monks fleeing away at the top of a truck. In the background it is possible to spot several other trucks carrying other exiles away.This image communicates a dual message first of all, it persuasively portrays Buddhist monks as innocent victims of the oppressive regime rather than violent protesters secondly, it indicates that the do of exiles exceeds the number of transport facilities available to them. Furthermore, it makes viewers think about the proximo of the protesters who are forced to leave their home country because of their political beliefs. It also puts the story in the wider regional context, since the conflict in Myanmar/Burma will also affect all the neighboring countries if exile becomes mass.The inscription under the image reads Many monks are desperate to leave Rangoon, witnesses say. The image advances the story by showing that the protesters are r eady to trade the risk and insecurity of fleeing to another country from relative political freedom they can enjoy abroad. some other BBC story, Burmese play tense waiting game (BBC, 2007), also features an effective use of visual images. One of the images that accompany the story features Gen Than Shwe who heads the ruling junta and controls the army. The facial expression of Gen Than Shwe is conspicuously aggressive and hostile. To the Western viewer, such an image reminds of other historical forms of military dictatorship, ranging from Soviet-era military buildup to juntas in Latin America. perhaps the most effective use of visual images has been done by the Reuters (2007). together with a series of stories, it offers a slideshow of 25 photographs representing the course of development of events in Myanmar/Burma. One of the photographs features a Buddhist monk standing by a placard that reads Free Political Prisoners, Listen to the People. Young man is wearable glasses (the fac t that resonates with the collective image of intelligentsia from developing countries) and has a very determined expression on his face. While there is a grammatical mistake in the word Political, the image still ascribe the protesters for their brave attempts to attract the attention of international community.In such a way, Western media frames the public discourse about the events in Myanmar/Burma is a forgiving way and calls upon Western governments and international organizations to render necessary support to the nonaggressive protesters and population of the country. ReferencesCNN. Satellite photos may prove abuses in Myanmar, researchers say. September 28, 2007. October 3, 2007. BBC. Monks trying to escape Rangoon. October 3, 2007. October 3, 2007. BBC. October 3, 2007. Burmese play tense waiting game. October 3, 2007. October 3, 2007. The Reuters. Myanmar junta arrests more. October 3, 2007. October 3, 2007.