images depicting before and after images of the region and inspiring international outrage. The local security forces met with Buddhist residents of Meiktila prior to the riots to devise a plan that would allow civilians to carry out a massacre and destroy nearly ever structure standing. It is important to understand that this particular Muslim community were not Rohingya. They were members of a smaller Muslim group called Kaman, an ethnic group legally recognized as citizens. Furthermore, the violence stopped only when the Tatmadaw stepped in and restored peace. This bolstered the legitimacy of the long-standing claim that the military was the only institution truly capable of defending the sovereignty and stability of the nation and protecting the purity of Burmese Buddhism. After serving two years in Parliament, Suu Kyi’s positive relationship with thenpresident Thein Sein began to dissolve, and the alleged move toward democracy stalled as the USDP began to tighten its grip on power. Influential USDP official Shwe Mann was briefly arrested and permanently removed from his post. Mann was open to constitutional reform that had the potential to remove significant power from the Tatmadaw and thus was perceived to be a significant threat that had to be eliminated. This signified that despite genuine interest in democratic reform among a small number of powerful individuals, old elites were still pulling strings behind the scenes. In fact, the primary concern remained that of maintaining the carefully constructed plan set forth by the Roadmap to Democracy, with the ultimate goal of sustained military privilege. The stalemate was short-lived, and by 2015 the USDP announced another round of general elections, this time assuring transparency and free and fair elections this time. To the surprise of the international community this proved to be generally true. The NLD 20