Burma's Double Bind

Burma’s (Myanmar) crackdown on protesting monks last year made a dent in tourist receipts, something the military government is trying to curtail. But despite the calls to boycott the temples of Bagan, it’s really the locals who feel the pinch.

Burma Lures Tourists with Reopening of Ancient Palace
Ethical Traveler, 03 February 2008

However, some say that a continued boycott will only prevent much-needed outside support from reaching the Burmese people. The Observer’s Chris McGreal discovered on a recent trip that “[o]rdinary Burmese people say tourism provides many with the means to feed their families.” Not only that, but “[t]ourists are witnesses to the state of the monasteries after the regime purged them of monks to break the pro-democracy protests. The monks who remain are often willing to talk discreetly about the assaults on them and their supporters and about how the military is keeping up the pressure despite the generals’ attempts to persuade the outside world that everything is back to Burma’s abnormal form of normality.”

Related Books:
– Ancient Pagan by D. Stadtner
– Myanmar Architecture: Cities of Gold
– Bagan by B. Broman
– Ancient Pagan by D. Stadtner
– Burma: Art and Archaeology
– Cultural Sites of Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia b. J. Dumarcay and M. Smithies