Htet Myat Aung

May 20, 2024 | eastasiaforum.org | Nicola Williams |Joseph Chinyong Liow |Hai Luong |Htet Myat Aung

Australia’s former foreign minister Julie Bishop takes on a challenging role as the recently appointed UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar. To avoid joining the high-level graveyard of UN envoys, diplomats and ASEAN leaders who have tried and failed to negotiate with the junta, she must remember the lessons learnt from over a decade of international peacebuilding and failed mediation efforts.

May 16, 2024 | eastasiaforum.org | Hai Luong |Tawanda Sachikonye |Linda Yueh |Htet Myat Aung

The political, social and economic turmoil from the 2021 Myanmar coup has pushed many to turn to poppy farming as a survival pathway. Farmers in the country’s remote, mountainous areas have resorted to growing the cash crop, which is a raw ingredient for producing heroin. Under the leadership of the Taliban, Afghanistan strictly prohibited the growing of poppy.