The civil war in Burma has been dubbed as the longest running internal conflict in the world, and hundreds of thousands have fled desperation and abuse across the border to Thailand. Today, countless of exiles live on the Thailand-Burma border as undocumented migrants, whilst thousands of others have lived confined to the refugee camps for years, even decades, with no way out. And all the while, hundreds of thousands are still displaced in the jungles of eastern Burma. Although there have recently been changes in Burma's political landscape, the underlying causes of the conflict remain unaddressed. Recent changes on the border have adversely affected the refugee population and severely hampered not only aid efforts but also the work of the pro-democracy and capacity building movement that has thrived on the Thailand-Burma border for decades. This book provides an insight into the situation on the border and the lives of those who remain trapped in a limbo.

A major contribution to the literature of Burmese history and politics, this book traces the rich and tragic history of the Mon people of Burma and Thailand, from the pre-colonial era to the present day. This vivid account of ethnic politics and civil war situates the story of Mon nationalism within the 'big picture' of developments in Burma, Thailand and the region. Primarily an empirical study, it also addresses issues of identity and anticipates Burmese politics in the new millennium. A particular feature of the book is its first-hand descriptions of insurgency and displacement, drawn from the author's experiences as an aid worker in the war zone.

This book proposes the alternative explanation on the pattern of ethnic conflict, especially the on-going civil war in Myanmar. Previously, most scholars accepted that narcotics play the crucial role in conflict as the resource of revenues. However, this book dramatically changes what we have ever thought before. It investigated in both field and documentary research by examining the role of narcotics in the ideological formation process and ethnic identification process. Consequently, the so-called ethno-narcotic politics was found in the way that the role of narcotics was able to be used as the source of political mobilization in various ways. Furthermore, the borderland is the appropriated area where the process of anti-ethno-narcotics identification could be emerged and later used as the main identity for the ethnic groups who remain fighting against state’s power.

This book is a collection of the most inspiring, haunting, and incredible life stories that Burma Link has had the privilege to document and transform into written narratives. These are stories that have emerged from decades of oppression and are of those who stand for peace and of those who desire change for their homeland. They will take you through unbelievable experiences full of adventure, danger, and loss, but also unwavering spirit of resilience and incredible hope and dreams. These are Burma's Voices for Change.

This paper written for the US Committee for Refugees (USCR) is based on two site visits to the Thai-Burmese border in July 1989 and April 1990. Mr Robinson, a USCR policy analyst, focuses principally on the Burmese students and ethnic minorities who have crossed the border and sought aid and protection in Thailand. He begins by reviewing recent events in Burma (Myanmar) as they affected students and the flight from the cities after September 1980. Attention is given to the policies of both the Burmese and Thai Governments towards the students who arrived on the border. The evolution of the governments' policies is shown through the history of the joint repatriation centre at a military airfield outside the Thai city of Tak and various incidents of 'forced repatriation'. Mr Robinson describes cross-border aid to the student camps starting in late 1988 and the challenges it faces. Information shows the location of sites of Burmese refugee and displaced persons camps, populations of the camps, and known repatriations. In addition to the plight of students, Mr Robinson focuses on ethnic minorities like the Karen and their situation in camps in Thailand. He also examines briefly other populations of concern who have either been displaced inside Burma or who reside in Thailand and may have reason to fear returning to Thailand. After looking at aid and asylum in Thailand, the author concludes with recommendations for the Burmese concerning asylum, humanitarian assistance, resettlement and sanctions.

For over sixty years, conflict between state forces and armed ethnic groups was ongoing in parts of the borderlands of Burma. Ethnic minority communities were subjected to systematic and widespread abuses by an increasingly complex patchwork of armed state and non-state actors. Populations in more remote and disputed border areas typically had little to no access to even basic healthcare and education services. As part of its counter-insurgency campaign, the military state also historically restricted international humanitarian access to civilian populations in unstable border areas. It was in this context that "cross-border aid" to Burma had developed, as an alternative mechanism for channelling assistance to populations denied aid through more conventional systems. Yet by the late 2000s, national and international changes had significant impacts on an aid debate, which had important political and ethical implications. Through an ethnographic study of a cross-border aid organisation working on the Thailand-Burma border, this book focuses on the political and ethical dilemmas of "humanitarian government". It explores the ways in which aid systems come to be defined as legitimate or illegitimate, humanitarian or "un-humanitarian", in an international context that has witnessed the multiplication of often-conflicting humanitarian systems and models. It examines how an "embodied history" of violence can shape the worldviews and actions of local humanitarian actors, as well as institutions created to mitigate human suffering. It goes on to look at the complex and often-invisible webs of local organisations, international NGOs, donors, armed groups and other actors, which can develop in a cross-border and extra-legal context – a context where competing constructions of systems as legitimate or illegitimate are highlighted. Exploring the history of humanitarianism from the local aid perspective of Burma, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Southeast Asian Studies, Anthropology of Humanitarian Aid and Development Studies.

"Although Southeast Asia has seen the emergence of civilian rule, the military continues to receive a large chunk of the national budget and, with significant assets and economic activities, often possesses enormous economic clout -- enhancing its political power while hindering democratization or civilian rule. The political economy of the military in less developed countries is thus a crucial subject area in terms of democratization. This study examines such "khaki capital" in seven Southeast Asian cases -- Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Each chapter analyses the historical evolution of khaki capital in the given country case; the role of internal and external factors (e.g. military unity and globalization) in this trajectory; and how the resulting equilibrium has affected civil-military relations. This work is important for understanding how and why military influence over parts of the economy in Southeast Asia has remained an impediment to achieving civilian control and democratization. Ultimately, this book tells the story of how militaries in Southeast Asia have benefited economically and the extent to which such gains have translated into the leveraging of political power." --