Two Years in Power — Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar's Transition
VIEW EVENT DETAILSIn 2016 the international community and Myanmar celebrated Aung San Suu Kyi’s coming to power. As leader of the opposition and icon of democracy, she became the voice of hope. Now, two years later, the same person attracts heavy criticism from the international community. What has happened? How is the democratization process evolving? How is the Buddhist religion shaping this process in its own way and what does it mean for the minorities? What is the future of the Rohingya? How does Switzerland answer to these trends?
By listening to an insightful conversation between Swiss Ambassador Paul Seger and Southeast Asia Correspondent Karin Wenger we will examine the transition of a young democracy and get a better understanding of where Myanmar stands today and how possible outcomes may look like.
This event is kindly supported by Turkish Airlines.
Ambassador Paul R. Seger, is the Head of Mission of the Swiss Embassy in Myanmar since October 2015. Prior to this assignment he was Switzerland’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York for five years. In this capacity, Ambassador Seger also chaired the Burundi Configuration of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission from 2010 to 2015. From 2003 to 2010, he was the Legal Adviser of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and Director of the International Law Department, Bern. Having entered the FDFA in 1983, Ambassador Seger previously served in Kinshasa, New York and Buenos Aires. He is married to Colette Seger Schneiter and has two adult sons.
Karin Wenger is Southeast Asia correspondent for the Swiss National Public Radio and Television (SRF) and lives in Bangkok, Thailand since 2016. From 2004 till 2009 she worked as freelance journalist in the Middle East, among other newspapers for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 2006 she was awarded the Zurich prize for journalism. From October 2009 till April 2016 she was the South Asia Correspondent of Swiss National Public Radio (SRF), based in New Delhi.