Aung San Suu Kyi Falls, but Myanmar’s Democratic Hopes Move On
The New York Times
The ousted civilian leader faces years in custody after being sentenced on the first of several charges. In her absence, a new generation of younger, more progressive politicians is emerging.
When a court in Myanmar on Monday handed down the first sentences in the junta’s long list of charges against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, it closed a chapter on an era of weak and compromised democracy in a Southeast Asian nation long ruled by a military fist.
But already, a new democratic movement has emerged — younger, more progressive, more confrontational and ready to look beyond Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi for a guiding light. Hope now rests with an immensely popular shadow government that formed after Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s civilian leader, was detained by the military in a Feb. 1 coup.
The challenges are immense for this new group of leaders, known as the National Unity Government, many of whom are forced to operate from exile.
