Concerted pressure needed on Burma
Source : The Sunday Editorial,The Nation(September 3, 2000)
NOBEL peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was brought home by armed force on Saturday, ending the nine-day stand-off between her and the authorities. However, the incident showed that the stand-off between the Burmese junta and the rest of the world will continue.
Suu Kyi has accomplished her political objective in reminding the international community of just how repressive the junta leaders in Rangoon are. Her defiance also highlighted the fact her party won the election in May 1990 and that it continues to be denied power.
Western countries expressed concern about the situation and deplored Burma's treatment of Suu Kyi. As a member of Asean, Thailand issued a warning that Asean's image would be further eroded by the affair. Suggestions were made that the Asean troika should be activated to look into the incident.
It seems that Burma is going to face a bumpy road in the next few months. With a series of meetings and evaluations of political and labour conditions in the country, Burma will be once again under the microscope of the United Nations. As in previous years, the UN General Assembly will consider a report on the Burmese situation. The report is expected to be harsher this time around.
Then Burma is expected to be the focus of discussions when European and Asian leaders gather in Seoul for their third summit meeting.
At the upcoming review of the labour situation inside Burma by the International Labour Organisation in mid-November, Burma will have to prove that it is heeding international concerns. If Burma remains as recalcitrant and adamant as it has been in the past in ignoring the recommendations made by ILO, then a number of proposed sanctions could take effect immediately, which could lead to Burma's expulsion from the body in the future.
At the moment, the much-awaited Asean-EU ministerial meeting has not yet been cancelled. However, it could end up in limbo if Burma continues to be intransigent.
Certainly, it all boils down to what Asean is planning to do about Burma. For one thing, the grouping can no longer remain silent. After all, Asean has failed to prove that peer pressure and the Asean Way have succeeded in making Burma more responsive to the concerns of the regional and global communities. In fact, Burma remains as rigid as ever.
Optimism that something for the better will occur in Burma is evaporating fast. The appointment of a new UN special representative for Burma and the "wait and see" attitude of the West had given rise to that hope. However, last week's stand-off is the most visible reminder to the world that the junta could not care less.
The most efficient way to deal with Burma is to have the West, Asean, China, Japan and Australia working together to bring pressure to bear on the regime in an organised manner. Without such a concerted approach, the political oppression in Burma will never end. The lack of a well co-ordinated effort has already weakened the individual approaches even though they share similar objectives in helping to bring about a better political environment inside Burma.
How long do we have to wait before change and political dialogue get started in Burma? Should the Rangoon regime be given more time to come up with changes? The junta has been using the extra time to twist and distort the real situation and to suppress people. So, it seems one thing is certain: that any change in the future will not come from the regime.