Myanmar last week took the baton from the Sultan of Brunei, assuming the rotating chair in 2014 of Asia¡¯s most important regional organization, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In December the country otherwise known as Burma will also host the Southeast Asia Games, a coming-out party for a nation emerging from a half-century of military repression.
These are stunning signs of Myanmar¡¯s rapid rehabilitation from international pariah status following the slaughter of monks during the Saffron Revolution in 2007. Nonetheless, Myanmar remains convulsed by communal violence and anti-Muslim pogroms, generating risks for ASEAN¡¯s unity and reputation.
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