Aung Din thinks the U.S. should be doing more to manage the affairs of Burma, now called Myanmar ("What Obama Can Do for Burma," op-ed, March 2), as if Iraq and Afghanistan are not enough. He asserts that news reports from Myanmar "only go from bad to worse." The economic reality is quite the contrary. In terms of all verifiable data, such as growth in external trade and electric power generation, the Myanmar economy is growing as rapidly as that of its major trading partner, China.
Since the present rulers ousted General Ne Win along with his bankrupting "Burmese Way to Socialism" in 1988, they have been implementing free markets and privatizations that are now generating commendable economic growth, despite the ongoing U.S. embargo against Myanmar. Their lovely beaches on the Bay of Bengal and their modern, first-class hotels are enjoyed by Russian businessmen working on long-term, joint-venture projects that would likely have been awarded to U.S. businesses, but for the embargo.
The article argues for further "increasing financial sanctions on Myanmar." Rather than trying to force Burma to return to the failed socialism of the past, we should be removing the embargo and related barriers to trade and cooperation, in the interests of liberty for the peoples of both Myanmar and the U.S.
Edwin D. Repp
Spokane, Wash.