Bertil Lintner

Myanmar’s generals didn’t expect the nation to rise up against the coup they staged in February 2021. But after decades of stifling, direct military rule, the Burmese people had become used to another way of life during the relative openness of 2011–21. The army has been unable to suppress anti-coup protests as it did in 1962 and 1988; and, three years after sending tanks into Yangon, Naypyitaw and other cities, the army has yet to establish a functioning administration. For the first time since the 1970s, armed resistance is not confined to traditionally strife-torn frontier areas, where ethnic insurgents like the Karen National Union and Kachin Independence Army have been active for decades—it has spread to the majority-Burmese heartland, in the shape of the People’s Defence Forces. But the anti-junta forces are insufficiently well-equipped to defeat the much more heavily armed Myanmar army, which itself is stretched too thin, on several fronts, to crush the resistance. And, despite foreign observers’ assurances, there is no unity, common command or synchronised strategy among the various ethnic- minority and ethnic-Burmese resistance groups. This is a war that neither side can win. Caught in the middle, and bound to suffer most, are civilians.

Det är få nu levande personer har haft så stort inflytande på så många människor under så lång tid som Dalai lama. Sedan den dramatiska flykten från Tibet 1959 har han inspirerat människor över hela världen med sina föreläsningar om tibetansk buddhism och icke-våldsprinciper. Han har även varit en frontfigur i kampen för frihet för sitt hemland som varit ockuperat av Kina sedan början av femtiotalet. För detta fick han Nobels fredspris 1989. Men det finns också en annan sida av Dalai lama och idag utmålas han av Kina som en "kriminell separatist" medan han har tagits emot som en hedrad gäst framför allt i väst, vilket håller honom kvar i världspolitikens centrum. Den stora frågan är vad som kommer att hända den dag Dalai lama är borta. Vem blir hans efterträdare och vad kommer att hända med Tibet? I den här boken tecknar Bertil Lintner inte bara ett porträtt av Dalai lama utan även en historisk bakgrund till frågan om Tibets status, och varför den alltid varit så omtvistad.

»Lysande om landet som inte fanns ... Lintner lyckas på en rak och journalistisk prosa få med alla avgörande händelser.« Svenska Dagbladet»Bertil Lintner är en av världens främsta Burmakännare. Hans Burmas historia är en bok som reder ut missförstånd och ger nya insikter om ett land som alltför ofta hamnat i medieskugga ...en mycket välskriven och innehållsrik bok ... I det fortsatta arbetet för mänskliga rättigheter i Burma är denna bok det viktigaste bidrag jag kan tänka mig.« Amnesty Press»En utmärkt introduktion till ett spännande och allt viktigare land.« BTJEtt okänt land med en fascinerande historia! Vad känner du till om landet Burma, eller Myanmar som det numera officiellt heter? Det största landet på Sydostasiatiska fastlandet har länge också varit det minst kända. När militären tog över makten 1962 isolerades landet från omvärlden. Men efter att en halvcivil regering tog över 2011 är landet öppet igen. Det har lockat till sig mängder av utländska turister, affärsmän och andra intresserade. Hur var denna omställning möjlig? Och har Burma egentligen förändrats i grunden, eller har militärstyret bara antagit en ny, mer acceptabel skepnad? Journalisten och Asienkorrespondenten Bertil Lintner är en av världens främsta Burmaexperter. Hansbok Burmas historia är en levande och initierad skildring, och dessutom den första heltäckande boken på svenska om detta fascinerande land. Boken behandlar Burmas historia till och med 2014.

This book explains how Burma's booming drug production, insurgency, and counter-insurgency interrelate—and why the country has been unable to shake off thirty years of military rule and build a modern, democratic society.

This book explains how Burma's booming drug production, insurgency, and counter-insurgency interrelate—and why the country has been unable to shake off thirty years of military rule and build a modern, democratic society.

Är du på arbetsresa till det finansiella centrumet Hongkong? Eller ska du på semester till denna spännande kinesiska metropol? Se till att ha med dig en bra guide som tipsar dig om allt du kan se och uppleva. Asienkännaren och journalisten Bertil Lintner tar dig med på promenader och utflykter på små slingrande bakgator, till hamnkvarteren och till marknader. Du får uppleva Cat Street, en gata med små antikvitets- och kuriosabutiker, och får veta vart du kan åka med Hongkongs klassiska spårvagnar. Och bara en timme bort med speedboat tar du dig till den före detta portugisiska kolonin Macau, en konstrasternas stad med europeisk arkitektur och jättecasinon. Bertil Lintner har vistats i Asien sedan 1975 och har bott permanent i Thailand sedan 1979. Han har skrivit för en rad tidningar och var i 20 år Svenska Dagbladets Asienkorrespondent. Dessutom har han skrivit 14 böcker om asiatisk politik, kultur och kriminalitet.

A well-documented and extremely engaging account of the Burmese Communist Party that details the development of the Party and the events and forces that led to the 1989 Mutiny and subsequent fall of the CPB. This study explores the ethnic tensions that influenced the attitudes of the rank-and-file members, the support and influence of the Chinese Communist Party, the Party's involvement in the drug trade, and the complex, antagonistic relationship between the CPB and the military regime of Burma.

A compelling history, augmented by on-the- ground reporting, of the armed forces of Myanmar, explaining their enduring hold on power. The longevity of military rule in Myanmar is one of the great enigmas of Asian politics. From 1962 through to the mid-1970s, there were over sixty military takeovers worldwide, the majority involving the overthrow of democratically elected governments. Only one of those military regimes remains in power today: in Myanmar. Since ousting the elected government in 1962, the Burmese armed forces have encountered several challenges to their solid grip on power, from periodic popular uprisings and ethnic minorities fighting for self-determination to armed resistance movements on the left and right—but this has only entrenched their position. During a decade of relative political openness, from 2011 to 2021, limited space for civilian politicians was created, but direct military rule was reintroduced after a coup in 2021. What is remarkable is that the origins of the current armed forces date back to a meeting of a few young, idealistic nationalists in 1939, who then decided to take up arms against British colonial rule. Bertil Lintner explores how and why the military developed into a state within a state—and became a repressive institution representing only its narrow self-interests.

This compelling history examines Myanmar's complex political landscape through the life of Chao Tzang Yawnghwe (1939-2004), son of Sao Shwe Thaike, the first president of independent Burma and last Saohpa (prince) of Yawnghwe. Chao Tzang's remarkable journey from privileged youth to rebel fighter, academic, and political theorist provides unique insight into the Shan struggle for autonomy and Myanmar's troubled postcolonial development. The narrative tracks Myanmar's transformation from a promising federal union to a military-dominated state, pivoting on the 1962 coup when General Ne Win seized power. This turning point had profound personal consequences for Chao Tzang, whose younger brother was killed and whose father disappeared during the takeover, mirroring the national catastrophe as Ne Win's "Burmese Way to Socialism" devastated the country's economy and exacerbated ethnic tensions. The work skillfully analyzes the web of Shan resistance movements, their shifting alliances with other ethnic armed groups, and the role of opium production in sustaining insurgencies. It examines the military's attempt to transform a multiethnic federation into a unitary "Myanmar" nation-state, contradicting the 1947 Panglong Agreement that formed the foundation for the original union. Central to the narrative is Chao Tzang's vision of a federal system as an alternative to military rule and ethnic separatism. His academic writings in exile offer prescient analysis of Myanmar's political trajectory and the structural obstacles to democratization. This essential work provides crucial historical context for understanding contemporary Myanmar, where many unresolved tensions fuel ongoing civil conflict. By weaving together personal narrative, political analysis, and historical documentation, it offers an intimate portrait of a remarkable political figure and a comprehensive examination of the challenges facing Myanmar's diverse society.

»Berättelsen är inte minst intressant i dag med tanke på Hongkongs särskilda ställning och den utveckling som har skett under senare år med motsättningar mellan Fastlandskina och många av innevånarna i Hongkong. Bertil Lintner är sedan många år bosatt i området och besitter stor kunskap...« BTJI 1800-talets Kina var det inte ovanligt att besökare möttes av samma doft både i de fina salongerna och på de sjaskiga syltorna. Opiumrökens söta arom fyllde rum liksom lungor, men blev också orsaken till en uppblossande konflikt. När Brittiska ostindiska kompaniet använde opiumet som en murbräcka in i den lukrativa kinesiska handeln förvandlades Kina till en nation av missbrukare. Den starkt beroendeframkallande drogen blev så populär och försämrade folkhälsan så till den grad att handeln förbjöds av regeringen. Att beröva britterna en så stor inkomstkälla gjorde man inte ostraffat och svaret gavs med vapenmakt. I Opiumkrigen berättar Bertil Lintner, expert inom asiatisk historia och politik, om opiumets långa historia och hur den kom att forma det Kina som gick in i 1900-talet, liksom landets speciella relation till Hongkong, vilken än idag är högst aktuell.

Provides poignant descriptions of the efforts of simple ethnic tribes-people to forge lives amid the larger struggles of political antagonists, drug lords, foreign interlopers and assorted other opportunists; a situation that remains painfully relevant to many in diverse locations to the present day. Bertil and Hseng Noung Lintner, and their baby daughter, born en route, spent one and a half years travelling through northern and eastern Burma, from 1985-87. Throughout their account, they describe, with rare and deep insight, the struggle by northern Burma's ethnic

The Indian Ocean's strategic importance to China cannot be underestimated, given the oil, African minerals and container traffic that pass through it. Yet, until now, China has been absent from the region since Admiral Zheng He sailed his fleet through in the fifteenth century, exploring and mapping the waters in a bid to extend the Celestial Empire's trading and tributary system. Beijing's re-entry into the Indian Ocean after 600 years is part of Xi Jinping's 'Belt and Road' megaproject. He is investing trillions of dollars in infrastructure projects around the Ocean rim, including a military base in Djibouti. This has touched off a new and dangerous confrontation. Ranged against China is an informal alliance of India, the US, France, Australia, and, predictably, Japan--Beijing's arch-rival in the Asia–Pacific. Bertil Lintner unearths this dramatic story, profiling the key players, examining the economic and naval balance of power, and scrutinising New Delhi and Beijing's intense competition for the allegiance of small island nations. China is in the Indian Ocean for the long haul, and the entry of big-power politics into this sensitive maritime region will shape its future for decades to come.

Att promenera i den heta, bullriga och stökiga mångmiljonstaden Bangkok låter kanske som en tokig idé, men det är faktiskt det bästa sättet att uppleva denna mångfacetterade stad. Bara man har rätt guide. Och det har man med den här boken där journalisten och Thailandkännaren Bertil Lintner tar dig med på tio vandringar och utflykter bortom turiststråken och larmet. Följ med och upplev Bangkoks Chinatown, de gamla kungapalatsen och badorten Hua Hin. Med den här boken i handen lotsas du förbi turistfällorna och hittar istället till de riktigt genuina marknaderna och till de parker som överraskande nog finns i denna betongdjungel. Du får dessutom en inblick i Bangkoks historia och kultur från någon som verkligen känner staden och Thailand. Fotografen Dennis Thern har följt tätt i Bertil Lintners fotspår och hans bilder ger dig atmosfären och känslan av att vara Bangkok. Så har du inte möjlighet att resa dit kan du resa hemma i soffan. Bertil Lintner har vistats i Asien sedan 1975 och har bott permanent i Thailand sedan 1979. Han har skrivit för en rad tidningar och var i 20 år Svenska Dagbladets Asienkorrespondent. Dessutom har han skrivit 14 böcker om asiatisk politik, kultur och kriminalitet.

Burma är fortfarande som en vit fläck på kartan för många svenskar efter att det i decennier var ett väldigt stängt land, styrt av en hård militärjunta som tog makten på 1960-talet. Men det är ett spännande land att besöka. I den här antologin beskrivs livet i Burma och hur det fungerar att resa i landet av två riktiga Burmakännare: Bertil Lintner, mångårig Asienkorrespondent och Burmaexpert samt Sven-Olof Einarsson, resenär med egen resebyrå som besökt Burma många gånger. De två författarna skriver personligt och kunnigt från sina olika utgångspunkter och ger läsaren en inblick i detta speciella land. Boken ger stora inblickar i Burmas stormiga historia och i buddhismen, två nycklar för att förstå Burma idag. Det här är en bok att läsa på planet på väg till Burma eller kanske att resa med hemma i soffan.

Since the 1950s, China and India have been locked in a monumental battle for geopolitical supremacy. Chinese interest in the ethnic insurgencies in northeastern India, the still unresolved issue of the McMahon Line, the border established by the British imperial government, and competition for strategic access to the Indian Ocean have given rise to tense gamesmanship, political intrigue, and rivalry between the two Asian giants. Former Far Eastern Economic Review correspondent Bertil Lintner has drawn from his extensive personal interviews with insurgency leaders and civilians in remote tribal areas in northeastern India, newly declassified intelligence reports, and his many years of firsthand experience in Asia to chronicle this ongoing struggle. His history of the “Great Game East” is the first significant account of a regional conflict which has led to open warfare on several occasions, most notably the Sino-India border war of 1962, and will have a major impact on global affairs in the decades ahead.

For centuries past, often driven by political upheaval or famine, Chinese have migrated to Southeast Asia and beyond, to far-flung corners of the globe. This book is suitable for China-watchers, or indeed for any who strive to understand the shifting dynamics of world power in the 21st century. For centuries past, often driven by political upheaval or famine, Chinese have migrated to Southeast Asia and beyond, to far-flung corners of the globe. Large old 'Chinatowns' in cities such as London, Toronto, New York and San Francisco attest to these earlier

Burma's pro-democracy movement emerged in 1988 when massive demonstrations swept across the country. This book gives an account of the movement, its emergence and growth, and Aung San Suu Kyi's prominent leadership role since its inception. Woven into this history is an outline of how Aung San Suu Kyi herself has become a highly respected pro-democracy icon internationally while being revered nationally as the "female Bodhisattva" who will deliver the Burmese people from the evil of the military regime. Lintner considers her strengths as well as her weaknesses, and traces her life not only in Burma, but also in India, the United Kingdom, the United States, Bhutan, and Japan. She was greatly inspired by her father, Aung San, Burma's independence hero who was assassinated when she was an infant, and also by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Lintner analyzes the staying power of Burma's military regime and points out the obstacles to achieving what Aung San Suu Kyi is striving for: a free and democratic Burma.

Bertil and Hseng Noung Lintner, and their baby daughter, born enroute, spent one and a half years traveling through northern and eastern Burma, from 1985-87. Throughout their account, they describe, with rare and deep insight, the struggle by northern Burma's ethnic groups against brutal Burmese army rule, and record the decline and fall of the Communist Part of Burma. During their incredibly arduous 2,275 kilometre trek, mostly on foot and at times in great danger, they recorded the history of a forgotten 40-year war, an account which otherwise would never have been committed to paper in such rich detail. Land of Jade further provides poignant descriptions of the efforts of simple ethnic tribes-people to forge lives amid the larger struggles of political antagonists, drug lords, foreign interlopers and assorted other opportunists-a situation that remains painfully relevant to many in diverse locations to the present day.

For decades, Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Burma intersect, has been infamous for its opium and heroin production. But in the 1990s, the drug gangs in the Golden Triangle began to produce methamphetamine, a synthetic narcotic that is not dependent on an unreliable crop like the opium poppy. The drug has become known as ya ba in Thailand - "madness medicine." The drug makes users hyperactive and often aggressive, breaking them down mentally as well as physically. It has led to murders, stabbings, and the kidnappings of innocent people. Who are the merchants of this madness? Bertil Lintner and Michael Black's answer is based on two decades of extensive research including first-hand accounts of the drug trade from law enforcement officers, intelligence officials, and sources close to the drug traffickers. Their exposé reveals how the Golden Triangle drug trade has grown to become a multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise.