Some governments earned legendary status for bad behavior and a stubborn unwillingness to change. They perpetuate an ideology of extremism, enforce oppressive measures, and institutionalize criminality. These governments seem unperturbed by economic sanctions and diplomatic threats. The military junta of Burma is just such an example.
They came into power in 1962 and many believe the situation has deteriorated. William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA, commented, "The authorities in Myanmar rely on torture to keep the population living in a state of fear."
Burma's government claims they don't use torture, but numerous refugees who fled to Bangladesh and Thailand revealed that military troops burn villages, rape, torture and murder civilians including women and children. The military junta launched a campaign of ethnic cleansing in the eastern regions.
The Karens, a minority ethnic group, suffered more than others. The Karen National Union army is trying to overthrow the government and protect their people, but Burma's military embarked on their strongest offensive yet a few months ago, displacing about 15,000 Karens from their homes.
May 16, the BBC reported an account from Sawmaw Khu, a Karen refugee. "Government troops had burned every house in his village and killed some of his neighbors. Burmese soldiers ordered villagers to watch the torture of a suspected rebel tied to a tree and beaten to death." Many refugees made similar statements.
The KNU is requesting a cease-fire but to no avail. Fortunately, the U.N. Convention Relating Status of Refugees appealed for other countries to accept Karen refugees. Recently, the U.S. State Department funded a program to resettle 9,000 of them. The KNU is pleading for foreign intervention to stop the bloodshed in Burma.
Ironically, General Than Shwe, the ruler of Burma, gave himself the title of Chair of the State Peace and Development Council. Nevertheless, pro-democracy groups in Burma haven't experienced peace. Hundreds of thousands were sent to forced labor camps. Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of National League for Democracy, was incarcerated in 1990 after her party overwhelmingly won an election. She continues to be detained under house arrest.
Amnesty International brought to the world's attention the plight of ethnic minorities and pro-democracy supporters in Myanmar. They've worked closely with the U.N. to find a diplomatic solution but General Than Shwe refuses to back down under any circumstances. Yet he doesn't shy away from publicity campaigns.
May 19, Ibrahim Gambari, the highest-ranking U.N. official for political affairs, paid a visit to Burma and was received warmly by General Than Shwe and offered Mr. Gambari the chance to sleep at a government guesthouse. General Than Shwe's conspicuous etiquette attempted to downplay the purpose of Ibrahim Gambari's visit.
The U.N. sent a message that they must institute more democratic reforms. The U.N. also expressed concerns over the abysmal human rights conditions. Burma is a leading supplier of heroin, plagued with many HIV/AIDS infections while also exploiting child labor and prostitution. Few expected this meeting to transform the military junta into a compassionate leadership.
Burma can avoid extreme isolation because China and Russia provides diplomatic support. China offered debt relief, economic aid, infrastructure investment and arms sales. ASEAN, comprised of ten South-East Asian nations, assumed a doctrine of non-interference and doesn't require political reform for membership.
Actually, Burma almost took on the chairmanship of ASEAN for 2006 but ceded their role on July, 2005 after the U.S. and EU threatened to boycott the meetings. Some parliaments in South-East Asia threatened to follow suit. The military junta believed they could benefit more if they used a conciliatory technique. They risked losing their membership if they pressed too hard.
The U.S. government undertakes a more aggressive and tougher stance. Since 1997 they imposed economic sanctions. The law prohibits new investments and exports of financial services to and imports from Burma; they froze the assets of Junta members in the U.S. and denied visas to regime officials.
Nonetheless, economic sanctions or soft diplomacy hasn't influenced the military junta. They continue to launch military offensives and torture campaigns, supply the world with heroin, and use force labor. Some hold the opinion that kindness and not threats will make the military junta more humanitarian. But history has proven them wrong. How much worse must Burma get before they realize that this diplomatic program was a fatal miscalculation?