In a rare outburst, Malaysia’s foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar has slammed the military-ruled Burma saying the junta is holding the entire Southeast Asian region hostage through its policies. Ahead of the Asean ministers’ meeting in Bali, Indonesia, an angry Albar said Burma was dragging Asean nations down in terms of credibility and image. Albar, who recently returned from an observation trip to Burma where he was not allowed to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has urged Asean nations to discuss the Burma question ‘frankly’.
It is heartening to note that the Asean has broken its tradition of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states to demand action from the Burmese junta. But discussions and pious intentions alone are not enough. The Asean nations, being the neighbours of Burma, have to take meaningful steps to make a difference. As the Malaysian foreign minister has rightly argued, the situation in Burma is not an internal problem. It is a constant source of embarrassment and tension for the whole region.
Mere words are not going to force the notoriously arrogant junta change its ways. Strongly-worded UN resolutions and appeals from organisations such as NAM and Commonwealth have failed to elicit any positive action from the inscrutable generals of the Stalinist state. What is needed is concerted and effective action from the international community. While the Western nations have been raising their voice over Burma, they can do little else. They have little influence over Burma as they have no economic or commercial ties with the country. It’s the big neighbours, India and China, in addition to Asean states, that could and should play their role in forcing the regime to fall in line.
Burma is a real challenge to the world community and its capability to bring freedom and reprieve to a long tyrannised and persecuted people. The junta has been taking the people of Myanmar and everyone else for a ride with its so-called ‘roadmap for democracy’. It’s nearly three years since it unveiled the much-hyped reforms initiative. But all we have seen so far is an elaborate exercise in public deception. Hundreds of political activists including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remain imprisoned, despite the fact that her alliance had swept parliamentary elections held nearly 13 years ago. There is no freedom to speak of and the country is a typical example of a police state that sees its people as its slaves, not thinking citizens. How long will the world tolerate this continuing insult to our collective humanity? When will the long nightmare of the people of Burma end?