Research and Publication
Project Description
The Burma Issues Newsletter is an eight-page, issue-orientated news bulletin published every month which analyzes information on Burma for an international audience. The project also publishes special larger publications for the international audience.
Why is Research and Publications important?
"Like many Burmese, I am tired of living in a fairy tale. For years, outsiders portrayed the troubles of my country as a morality play: good against evil, with no shade of greay in between, a simplistic pricture, but one the world believes." Pro-democracy activist and former political prisoner Ma Thanegi describing frustrations with Western oversimplifications of the situation in Burma.
After getting so much information throughout our documentation centre and other sources, we then needed to organise and analysis the situation and present our conclusions in a readable way. This is how Research and Publication can be a direct result of the success of the Documentation Centre, as well as many other more direct ways that we get information from the border. Without this analysis and sharing of information, the collection of information is pointless.
Research adn Publication project hopes to reflect the complex problems and give more depth to what is often called"Western oversimplifications" of many issues. Burma Issues has the perspective that the modern world is interconnected and ultimately the conflict in Burma is an international one. As corporations, governments, development groups, etc. affect the situation in Burma, citizens of thw world need to understand the situation in order to make more informed decisions on how they relate with Burma, so that they do not end up hurting the very people which they might believe they are helping. Burma Issues newsletter works hard to proactive literature which encourage readers to think, feel and act. While, primarily meant for an international audience, the newsletter and special publications can also be used to upgrade the thinking of Burma Issues staff members.
Aim
- The aim of the newsletter is to help build support for the peace and justice movement in Burma in a more effective focused way.
Objectives
- To inform the international community about the serious human rights, economic, political and civil war ssues facing the people of Burma
- To identify significant trends from Burma in order to plan proactive campaigns and actions more effectively
- To provide reliable data and do analyse
- To encourage international action focused specifically on economics and human rights
- To help focus attention on the root causes of the civil war in Burma
- To promote dialogue within Burma related NGOs, expatriot Burma nationals and the larer international community with regard to greater systemic issues
- To allow the marginalized people, the people who are seldom presented in any publications, to have a greater voice in the international community
Target Audiences
The target audience for Burma Issues English language newsletter and special publications are members of the international community who work on issues related to Burma. This includes NGOs who work on Burma, both on the border and abroad, human rights organisations, activits, educators, diplomats and politicians, journalists, as well as expatriot Burma nationals. We assume our readers are fairly knowledgeable about Burma: that they know a bit about Burma's history, follow Burma-related news and are aware of the larger political issues in the country.
It may at first seem ironic that as an organisation which aims to support a "people's movement" Bi focuses such attention on the "top" of the power structure, on the international response to Burma. By supporting international action, BU does not mean to encourage foreigners to speak or act on behalf of the people of Burma. Instead, we think that the international community should use its economic and political power to pressure and encourage the junta to relax it's hold on the country. Pressure from the outside can hlep break the junta's grip on the country, giving the people more opporunities to change their situations.
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