DEPARTMENT
A CURIOUS CAPITAL In 2005, in a bizarre and abrupt shift, Burma’s military leadership moved the capital from its longtime home in coastal Rangoon to a far-flung jungle outpost called Naypyidaw. On March 27, in celebration of Armed Forces Day, junta head General Than Shwe unveiled the city to foreign reporters, surveying his new digs via the open sun roof of his Mercedes limo. Pastel buildings? Check. Eight-lane highway? Check. Vibrant new city for a nation of 47 million? Not yet. Those in Rangoon who still have a choice haven’t budged.
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