Musings of a novice.....

I should start by offering the following disclaimer: I am not well versed on the conflict in Myanmar.  While I am an avid consumer of the news and I was aware of the protests, I have no context or background information on the subject.  When my colleagues and I discussed potential topics for our blog, I realized that this would be a great opportunity to learn more about a conflict that is virtually ignored by the international media. As the semester progresses, I'm sure I will develop a more definitive position on this conflict based on my own research. 

To conduct my initial research for this posting, I visited BBC to get some basic information which provided me with an interesting synopsis of the conflict that made headlines in 2007.  One of the things I found most interesting was the government's attempt to limit Burmese citizens' contact with the outside world by controlling cell phone and internet usage.  This action suggests that the government knew their intended course of action could have a negative effect on the nation's international image.  For me and many others, especially those who are citizens of nations governed by free speech and democracy, this is nearly unthinkable.  

To think, I have only scratched the surface of the issues in Myanmar.