23.07.2006
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An International Liability: Is There a Win-Win Solution?
Burma is a country of peace-loving and naturally humble people in South East Asia.
After its Independence from British Empire, British style parliamentary democracy survived in Burma for only a decade. In 1958, the first military regime annexed power from civilian government.
Although military regimes carried out multi-party general elections in 1960 and 1990, military generals just ignored people’s opinion when people voted against pro-military parties and showed their overwhelming support to pro-democracy parties.
Military regime’s persistent refusal to recognize election results led to international sanctions on it. In 1997, following longstanding protests against Western investment in Burma, President Bill Clinton introduced US economic sanctions against the regime.
And in 2003, after the infamous Depayin Massacre, where reportedly 300 to 500 members of the main opposition party Nation League for Democracy were cold-bloodedly murdered by the regime, President Bush passed the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act to toughen existing sanctions on Burma.
US’s eagerness to put sanctions on Burma prompted European Union to follow suite, but with incredibly weak sanctions.
Among other trivial measures, EU sanctions include a limited investment ban. But it allows European companies to invest in Burma’s off-shore gas fields. In fact, revenue from gas fields is one of the two main sources of income for Burma’s military regime_ the other being dividends from profits of illegal drug trade carried out by pro-regime militia groups along Burma-China border.
America’s unilateral action and EU’s lack luster approach to sanctions emboldened Russia, China and other Asian countries to make lucrative business deals with Burmese military regime.
So even under American and European sanctions, Burmese military regime is thriving stronger and stronger and the conditions of life of ordinary people are deteriorating day by day.
And it gives a chance to some critics to say that sanctions just hurt ordinary people too much.
But, there are two weak points in their argument: _
The people in Burma were already very poor since long before sanctions came, because of corruption and mismanagement by successive military regimes. With or without sanctions, they will still be poor as long as a despotic military regime is in power.
Another point is if we scrap sanctions, what else we can do to put pressure on the military regime to stop its atrocities on the people? Be ware that according to Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian group helping internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees along Burma’s east and west borders, there are more than one million IDPs and refugees from Burma. These ethnic minority refugees fled their homes to avoid killings and raping by Burmese soldiers and to avoid being used as forced labourers or child-soldiers in Burmese army.
And, Burma’s icon of Liberty Aung San Suu Kyi is currently serving her eleventh year of detention along with many thousand other political prisoners_ they are not just imprisoned but also tortured more or less.
And Burma’s ordinary people have virtually no access to internet; and radio, television and newspapers are run by the regime and all other publications are strictly censored.
And Burmese regime enjoys top rank in Transparency International’s corruption indices.
Burmese regime’s excessive loggings and building of huge dams along rivers are causing massive damage to the environment.
And countless number of women and children from Burma have been trafficked into sex industries in neighbouring countries, but Burma’s military government usually just pretend as if nothing is happening. And now Burma has become a country with highest HIV positive rate in the region.
And lately, the Australian News Agency reported that BURMA'S military junta attempted to buy nuclear weapons technology from North Korea's rogue regime.
So we cannot let these things go on and on and on without restraint_ Burma has nowadays become an international liability.
Currently United States is spearheading an effort in United Nations to get UN Security Council action on Burma. But what will UNSC do? Just a Security Council resolution urging Burmese regime to make reforms won’t be enough to help Burma’s long suffering people_ we need something more practical than that.
One option we have is to keep Burma’s seat vacant in the United Nations General Assembly until military regime has made significant progresses in democratization of Burma. Unlike sanctions, keeping Burma’s seat vacant in the United Nations will not do any harm to ordinary Burmese people, but at the same time it will exert an immense and tremendous pressure on military regime. The most important thing is that United Nations had already tested such a measure in the past on Cambodia and got desired results within a short period of time.
So if we regard sanctions as ineffective and also don’t want an Iraq style military intervention, keeping Burma’s seat vacant is the only way out. And don’t forget that it has been tested with dramatic success during Cambodia crisis.
Dr. Tayza
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Comments
Eaindani said _
What's your thoughts on the Economic Sanctions to Burma?
Thai Pyan said _
Dear Dr. Tayza, congratulations on getting your article (this article) published in Malaysia Today newspaper! Keep up the good work.
Your Comments here_
Request: If you can kindly volunteer to translate BURMA DIGEST English articles into Burmese, please let us know BDeditors@tayzathuria.org.uk .
Please download from http://www.tayzathuria.org.uk/BD.pdf a simple, portable and printable version of BURMA DIGEST and send it to all your Burmese friends.
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