Dr. Zarni
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Dr. Zarni is a prominent figure in activism for Burmese democracy. He lived in the United States where he founded the Free Burma Coalition, which, at the time, was the largest Burmese democracy group in the USA. The Free Burma Coalition picked up and led the Pepsi Boycott, from 1995 to 1997, one of the most successful boycotts in the history of Burmese democracy activism and comparable only to the campaigns against the oil companies, Unocal and Total.
Subsequent to Pepsi's withdrawal from Burma, Zarni returned to Burma for a brief time before coming back to the United States where he declared - almost unilaterally - that the policy of the Free Burma Coalition would change from one of confronting the regime and calling for sanctions, to one of encouraging engagement with the regime. As a result of Zarni's change in policy, almost all members the Free Burma Coalition and both staff members left to found the US Campaign for Burma, which maintains the original policies of the Free Burma Coalition with regard to supporting the Burmese democracy movement and opposing the military junta.
Many have questioned Zarni's motives. In 2006, Zarni and other members of the military junta and their supporters were listed in a publication circulated within Burma as an "enemy of the democracy movement." (The origins of this publication are uncertain.) Zarni continues to espouse his views within academic and political analyst circles.
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[edit] Op Eds by Dr. Zarni
- Zar Ni: Western pressure on Burma isn't working
- Maung Zarni: The futility of threatening Burma
- Zarni: Isolating Burma will not help Aung San Suu Kyi
- Burma Special: Why we must talk to the generals
- Time for Rethinking Social Change in Myanmar/Burma
[edit] Awards and Honours
Member, Georgetown Leadership Seminar, Georgetown University (2004)
Member, Rockefeller Foundation Next Generation Leadership
Nominated by The Progressive Magazine in the United States for Mario Savio Memorial Award (set up in honor and memory of the iconic leader of Berkeley's Free Speech Moment) in 1999
[edit] Educational Background
Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin at Madison, USA), 1998 MA (University of California at Davis, USA), 1991 BSc (Mandalay University, Burma/Myanmar), 1984 St Peter's Boys' School, Mandalay, 1979
[edit] Specialized Training
Political Negotiations, United States Institute of Peace, 2004
[edit] Current Position
Visiting Research Fellow International Department (Queen Elizabeth House) University of Oxford
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