The Fighting Peacock and a Nation in Transition

About the Book

The book is about a political party in Myanmar named National League for Democracy founded by people from various walks of life in the midst of upheavals that started in 1988. The chair of the party is no other than iconic Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the noble laureate. The symbol of the party is the fighting peacock. It is associated with the decades-long democratic struggle against military dictatorship in the country. The symbol closely resembles a green peafowl, as it has a tufted crest. The NLD party symbol is adopted from the Myanmar (Burmese) Student Union flag. The NLD won a landslide victory in the 1990 general elections held by the military government, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). However, it did not transfer power to the NLD. After a long and bitter political struggle for many years of the NLD hand in hand with the masses, the party won a landslide victory in the 2015 general elections. In March 2016, the civilian government led by the NLD took over the administration from the military-backed government of the country. The book tells in dashing lines about a nation in transition under fledgling democracy.

About the Author

The author is a retired diplomat of the Myanmar Foreign Service who had served in various capacities in four neighboring countries including China and in the Yangon Headquarters. He served (42) years under successive governments of the country. After retirement, he remains as a freelance with no political affiliation.