A new president was sworn in to office in Burma on Wednesday, capping a transition from military dictatorship to the country’s first civilian-led administration in more than half a century. President Htin Kyaw is a close ally of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Laureate who led the country’s struggle for democracy and endured years under house arrest before leading her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), to a comprehensive election victory in November. The military men who ran the country’s economy into the ground and brutally suppressed ethnic minorities and political opponents have stepped back, allowing liberalizing reforms and new freedoms. A young population is...
