The Wire

Burma’s Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was ousted last month by hardline members of the country’s ruling military junta – a power struggle that has been going on for some time. He was less conservative than his colleagues, and seen as the most viable catalyst for reform. Now, Burma is in the hands of a hardline lieutenant-general, who masterminded last year’s violent attack on popular opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Burma’s media has also suffered under Burma’s ultra-conservative government. So what does the future look like for the Burmese people? And will the government get away with this latest crackdown, as it has done with so many other human rights violations in the past? Anja Kueppers spoke to Aung Zaw, exiled Burmese journalist and political dissident, who is the founder and editor of The Irrawaddy – an internationally recognised and respected publication based in Thailand. She also spoke to Lin Newmann, executive editor of The Standard newspaper in Hong Kong who was a foreign correspondent in Burma during the uprising in 1988; and Robby Alampay, executive director of the South East Asian Press Alliance.