Marwaan Macan-Markar

Bangkok

Regional Correspondent at Nikkei Asia

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Articles

Myanmar opposition calls for earthquake aid to bypass military regime

3 weeks ago | asia.nikkei.com | Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK -- As the death toll mounts from Friday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake in war-torn Myanmar, leaders of the parallel National Unity Government have begun lobbying behind the scenes to secure new routes for humanitarian aid, fearing that foreign assistance will be held hostage by the ruling military regime. The humanitarian diplomacy endeavor is aimed at sympathetic governments in Southeast Asia, Western donor countries and international aid agencies.
Thaksin Redux: Thai Politics as Theater

1 month ago | globalasia.org | Marwaan Macan-Markar

ARCHIVE/SEARCH > Articles Articles Thaksin Redux: Thai Politics as Theater By Marwaan Macan-Markar THAKSIN SHINAWATRA’S appetite for the high life is legendary. So it was fitting that the former Thai prime minister marked his early taste of freedom in Bangkok after 15 years of exile with his billionaire-style habits.
Fisheries dispute haunts Sri Lanka-India relationship

2 months ago | asia.nikkei.com | Marwaan Macan-Markar

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka -- Along Sri Lanka's northern Jaffna coast, fishermen in T-shirts and sarongs grumbled about their poor catch the previous night. As they mended their blue nets spread out close to the lapping sea, the men complained about how the only fish they could sell was a meager haul of barracuda, Indian mackerel and milk shark. There is no mystery as to what is sapping the livelihoods of these men who are the breadwinners of their families.
China and Sri Lanka eye new phase of BRI with $3.7bn investment

Jan 17, 2025 | asia.nikkei.com | Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK -- Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will wrap up his inaugural visit to China Friday after securing a landmark investment deal that can help his country's struggling economy, while adding value to Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative projects in the strategically-located island.
Sri Lanka turns to untried leftists to lead break from poverty, strife

Nov 28, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Marwaan Macan-Markar

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Party of Sri Lanka's new president secures majority in parliament

Nov 14, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Marwaan Macan-Markar

COLOMBO -- Sri Lanka's National People's Power (NPP) party, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, won Thursday's parliamentary election in a landslide, paving the way for the new president to push his policies. In the initial count, the NPP secured 141 seats as of 12:30 p.m. local time on Friday in the 225-member legislature, marking a seismic shift in voter sentiment for a party that held only three seats in the parliament before the election.
Books: Inside Thailand's 'praetorian' military

Oct 23, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK -- Among the list of military strongmen who have held Thailand in their grip over decades, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat remains peerless -- not just for his strategic achievements or ability to defeat foreign foes in battle. Rather, his fame, or notoriety, rests on his reputation as a lady-killer and the wealth he amassed as military leader in a country that was still a semifeudal agricultural backwater.
Dissanayake's journey from toffee seller to Sri Lankan president

Sep 24, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Marwaan Macan-Markar

THAMBUTTEGAMA, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake dissolved Parliament late on Tuesday, with general elections to be held on Nov. 14. Since his party currently has only three members in the legislature, he aims to strengthen his power base with the highly unusual move to call elections right after taking office.
Sri Lankans reject political dynasties for leftist outsider

Sep 23, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Marwaan Macan-Markar

COLOMBO -- With an eye on scripting a fresh political culture, voters in Sri Lanka rallied around new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Saturday's election. His victory, fueled by anti-establishment discontent that had been brewing for months, gives the Marxist-leaning politician a role in deciding the future of reforms in the debt-ridden island nation.
Antiestablishment leader Dissanayake wins Sri Lanka presidential election

Sep 22, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Marwaan Macan-Markar

COLOMBO -- Antiestablishment opposition parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake won Saturday's presidential election in Sri Lanka, shocking a political elite that has dominated power in the South Asian nation for nearly eight decades. The Election Commission of Sri Lanka announced the victory of the 55-year-old leader of the National People's Power (NPP) alliance on Sunday. More than 13 million out of 17 million eligible voters cast ballots.