"The promotion of political ideas in a musical context has been a common feature of mass movements Southeast Asia. In Burma, where strict censorship prevails and military dictatorship still governs, the uneasy marriage of music and politics continues to be met with stiff resistance. Like other political movements in Southeast Asia, music has provided a rallying point for the masses during political upheavals in Burma. It has served as a potent response to the rapid political and social displacements brought on by neo-colonialism, industrialization, and dictatorship. At the same time, music has also been appropriated to serve the establishment by strengthening national cohesion, promoting entrenched power structures and spreading selected values and information to the multitudes..."