Learn about the state of the anti-military movement in Myanmar from an expert panel, hosted by the Cornell University Southeast Asia Program (SEAP) in both English and Burmese on March 27, 2023. Featured speakers will include members of the National Unity Government of Myanmar and a former senior State Department official. The morning panel discussion (9:30 am to 12:00 pm) will be conducted in English and the afternoon panel discussion (1:30 pm to 4:00 pm) will be in Burmese language.

The morning panel will be held in the Taylor Room, Statler Hotel, and the afternoon panel will be held at the Kahin Center. Participants are also welcome to join by Zoom.

This event is sponsored by the Southeast Asia Program (SEAP), the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, the Department of Government, the Department of Asian Studies, the Berger Program, and the Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies. This event is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Education as part of SEAP’s designation as a National Resource Center.

On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military removed the country’s democratically re-elected government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from office in a coup d’état. By April of that year, the military had formed the State Administrative Council (SAC) to rule the country. In response, millions of ordinary people of Myanmar have risen up against the SAC and the renewed imposition of military rule. The ensuing crackdown from the SAC has thrown a once fledgling democracy into chaos. Since the coup, the Myanmar military and police have reportedly killed thousands of civilians and have arbitrarily detained thousands more. As conflict has erupted across the country, civilian populations have been bombed, properties have been razed, and hundreds of thousands of people are internally displaced. The junta has also failed to hold the new elections it had promised.

Amidst the continuing spring revolution and the civil disobedience movement, the National Unity Government (NUG) was formed on April 16, 2021 by a group of elected lawmakers and members of the parliament deposed by the coup, ethnic representatives and civil society activists. The NUG functions as a parallel government, and opposes the military by seeking support from Ethnic Armed Groups (EAOs) across Myanmar and by seeking support domestically and abroad. The NUG’s vision of state and nation building is designed to be more inclusive and representative of popular demands than the SAC junta, and seeks to provide the country’s many ethnic minority groups what they have demanded since independence. The NUG has also created People’s Defense Force (PDF) to protect civilians from military attacks.

The international community has condemned the violence perpetrated by the Myanmar military against its own civilians. Most recently, on December 21, 2022 the U.N. Security Council adopted a historic resolution on Myanmar denouncing the human rights violations carried out by the Myanmar military government since the coup d’état. In the United States, President Biden signed the Burma Act into law on December 23, 2022 to implement increased pressure on the military and provide more aid to the people of Myanmar.

As the violence in Myanmar and the war in Ukraine make clear, the rise of autocratic leaders and their actions pose a threat to democracy and fundamental freedoms around the world. The esteemed speakers in both panels will discuss how the anti-military movement formed and grew into a nationwide uprising, how this dissent is sustained, and what this movement envisions for a new Myanmar.

Featured Speakers will include:

U Moe Zaw Oo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Unity Government

U Kyaw Moe Tun, Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations

Ms. Priscilla Clapp, Senior Advisor to the United States Institute of Peace; and former Chief of Mission in Burma from 1999-2002

Moderators:

May Sabe Phyu, Visiting Fellow, Cornell University Law School

Magnus Fiskejo, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Cornell University

Lund Critical Debate

Democracies worldwide—even many wealthy democracies long considered safely consolidated—are at risk today. Governments, policymakers, and voters face new conflicts over democratic institutions, checks and balances, which citizens can compete for office or deserve representation, and what rules of accountability apply.

This year's Lund debate from the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies examines the threats democracies around the world are confronting, both from external forces and from within—and what governments and citizens can do to fight back.

Join Thomas Garrett of the Community of Democracies and Damon Wilson of the National Endowment for Democracy for a conversation on democratic backsliding, strategies for resilience, and the conditions and practices that undermine democracy: democracy ... and its opposites.

A reception with refreshments will follow the conversation.

Lund Debate: 5:00–6:30 p.m. | Alice Statler AuditoriumFree ticket required for in-person attendance. Reserve your ticket today! Join the lecture virtually by registering at Cornell.

Reception to follow.

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Panelists

Thomas E. Garrett is secretary general of the Community of Democracies, a global intergovernmental coalition comprised of the Governing Council member states that support adherence to the Warsaw Declaration's common democratic values and standards. Garrett previously worked for the International Republican Institute for 12 years overseas in Ukraine, Mongolia, and Indonesia, returning to Washington, DC, in 2005 as director of Middle East programs and then as vice president for global programs.

Damon Wilson is president and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a nonprofit grant-making foundation supporting freedom around the world. Prior to joining NED, he helped transform the Atlantic Council into a leading global think tank as its executive vice president. He previously served as special assistant to the president and senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council. Wilson also served at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad as the executive secretary and chief of staff, where he helped manage one of the largest U.S. embassies during a time of conflict.

Moderator

Rachel Beatty Riedl has served as the Einaudi Center's director since 2019. She is the Einaudi Center's John S. Knight Professor of International Studies and professor in the Department of Government and Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. Her research interests include institutional development in new democracies, local governance and decentralization, and authoritarian regime legacies in Africa.

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About the Debate

The Lund Critical Debate is a signature event of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. This year's dialogue is part of Einaudi's work on democratic threats and resilience. Established in 2008, Einaudi's Lund Critical Debate series is made possible by the generosity of Judith Lund Biggs '57.

Faculty and staff are invited to join for an overview and open discussion of the Global Hubs initiative.

Vice Provost Wendy Wolford will explain the purpose of the Global Hubs, and faculty leads for several of the Hubs locations will discuss their experiences with institutional partners and ways for faculty and staff to be involved.

Please bring your questions about the Hubs and join us in person on March 13 at 11:30 a.m. in G10 Biotech.

Moderator:

Wendy Wolford, Vice Provost for International Affairs

Faculty Presenters:

Gustavo Flores-Macias, faculty lead for Tecnológico de Monterrey, MexicoNate Foster, faculty lead for University of Edinburgh, United KingdomYing Hua, director of Cornell China Center, BeijingLee Humphreys, faculty lead for DenmarkTom Pepinsky, faculty lead for National University of Singapore, SingaporeMark Milstein, representative for the Faculty Senate CAPP on the faculty advisory committeeRachel Beatty Riedl, director of the Mario Einaudi Center for International StudiesKen Roberts, faculty lead for Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador

Leading gamelan musicians in the US join the Cornell Gamelan Ensemble for a klenengan, a long and relatively informal gathering that best accommodates the temporal expansiveness of Javanese gamelan music. Audience members are free to come and go, to enjoy snacks, and even to chat quietly with one another. The relaxed atmosphere fosters a mood in which focused concentration is tempered by an equal sense of calm and comfort. The musicians will begin playing at 4pm, taking a break for dinner around 7pm before resuming at the advertised start time of 8pm, and continuing until at least 10pm. Dedicated to the memory of two masters, Ki Saguh Hadi Raharjo and Nyi Panut, this klenengan is directed by their son, Darsono Hadiraharjo.