Pull out, suspend or stay? Foreign firms in Myanmar face some tough choices over how to respond to the military coup and subsequent violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in the country. More than 520 people have died in daily demonstrations since the military overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, halting Myanmar’s decade-old experiment in democracy.
The coup and the junta’s subsequent actions have triggered international condemnation and US sanctions. The junta has vested interests in large swaths of the country’s economy, from mining to banking, from oil to tourism. NGOs have urged companies to review their presence as the military dramatically ramps up its use of lethal force against protesters.
