Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Many problems to be faced in the new Burma

By Graham Cooke - posted Monday, 31 December 2012


Burma is a country on the brink of change. The military is relaxing its grip, democratic freedoms are beginning to emerge and as a result the sanctions that blighted the country and virtually cut it off from the rest of the world for two decades are lifting; foreign tourists and their much-needed money are trickling back.

After years of vicious dictatorship, imprisonment without trial, summary executions and ‘disappearances’, the military-backed Government, sequestered in its jungle capital of Naypyidaw, is beginning to understand, albeit reluctantly, that it cannot do without the rest of the world. Whatever the reasons, and they are probably numerous, the country is in the throes of reform. There have been false dawns before, most infamously in the ignored election result of 1990, but this time the momentum for change appears irresistible.

And long, long overdue. Yangon (once Rangoon, the former capital and today a teeming port city of four million) is desperately in need of outside investment, comparing unfavourably even with the Singapore I remember from my first visit there 40 years ago. At the time of its independence in 1948 resource-rich Burma was considered one of the newly-emerging South-East Asian nations most likely to succeed. Instead it became a backwater, forced into a time capsule after the military, under Ne Win, seized control from the admittedly ineffectual Government of U Nu in 1962.

Advertisement

The dictatorship that followed is a template for all the arguments against military rule. Ne Win was self-obsessed to the point of paranoia, constantly fearing assassination, using voodoo-style ceremonies and incantations to keep himself safe and with an irrational fear of dogs to the point that his progress around the country was preceded by a detachment of soldiers with orders to shoot all stray dogs on sight.

He proclaimed a program called ‘The Burmese Way to Socialism’, which Burmese watcher and historian Justin Wintle describes as actually being nothing more than a home-grown brand of fascism.

“Ne Win had no interest in reconciliation with Burma’s minorities,” Wintel says. “His only answer to opposition was to crush it, and crush it savagely. As an example, when students from Rangoon National University launched a protest movement in the 1970s he outlawed the Students Union and destroyed its building.”

In the years before mobile phones and the internet, Ne Win’s attempts to isolate Burma from the rest of the world were largely successful, but the return to the country of Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of the revered and martyred architect of Burmese independence, Aung San, set in place changes that the ageing dictator could not control. He stepped down in 1988 but remained a shadowy power behind the scenes as military rule continued, and a key influence behind the decision to ignore the 1990 election result in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won an overwhelming victory.

The multiple harassments and detentions of Suu Kyi and her supporters which followed evoked international outrage and sanctions that were the beginning of the end for dictatorship in Burma, although the time it has taken for it to be disbanded says something for the obstinacy of the generals who followed Ne Win, in particular Than Shwe, who had a virulent hatred for Suu Kyi.  However, the new man at the helm, Thein Sein, more of a bureaucrat than a soldier, has lessened tensions. The National League for Democracy was allowed to contest by-elections in 2012 and Suu Kyi is now a Member of Parliament.

These changes, while welcome, are shallow. The Government may no longer be in the business of rounding up political prisoners, but it is in no hurry to free those jailed by its predecessors. While token releases have been going on – most notably to mark the visit of United States President Barack Obama in November - an unknown number, certainly in the hundreds and possibly thousands, remain behind bars, many languishing in terrible conditions. Those that do gain their freedom often face continued intimidation.

Advertisement

In an interview, one former prisoner, released after a decade in jail, said many people had shunned him for fear their contact would bring them to the notice of authorities.

“There is still a fear of the Government. It does not go away overnight,” he said.

The Government has also failed to act to prevent the violence that erupted in mid-year between Buddhists and the minority Rohingya Muslims in the remote Rakhine State, on the border with Bangladesh. The attacks, believed to have begun after the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman, have left more than 200 dead and an estimated 115,000 displaced.

While the Rohingya, now numbering around 800,000, have lived in Burma for decades – and possibly since the middle of the 19th century -  the Government describes them as ‘Bengali immigrants’, denies them citizenship and places restrictions on their travel and education. After the latest wave of violence it has more or less left relief efforts to international agencies.

Such is the antipathy towards the Rohingya among the Burmese population – in Yangon I heard comments such as “illegal Bengalis invading Burma” and “the Government must do something about our porous borders”, that even Suu Kyi has retreated to the illegal immigrant argument.

While atrocities that took place have been under-reported, human rights groups claim to have numerous accounts of rape and torture by security forces with more than 1000, most of them Rohingya, currently in detention without trial. Claims of crimes against humanity have touched a sensitive nerve with the Thein Sein Government, which has held out the possibility of resettlement and citizenship to those who can prove they are long-standing residents in Burma.

Elsewhere, the long standing conflict with the semi-autonomous Kachin Independence Organization, on the border with China, shows no sign of being resolved. 

The test of Burma’s fledgling democracy will come in 2015 when a general election is due.  If it’s free and fair the National League for Democracy will almost certainly win a substantial majority and Aung San Suu Kyi will become president – an outcome that Justin Wintle says would not be in the best interests of the country.

While admitting that Suu Kyi is a rallying point for unity – an important quality in a country with so many ethnic minorities – he believes she would not make a good executive president. 

“She really has very little knowledge of economics and the nuts and bolts of running a country,” he said. “A really good outcome would be a change in the constitution to make the presidency a ceremonial position, with the executive power in the hands of a prime minister and cabinet.

“However, there is little chance of that happening.”

 

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. All

The name ‘Burma’ has been used throughout this article rather than ‘Myanmar’, which is the country’s official name and the one recognised by Australia. However, many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, still use ‘Burma’ in official documents and it is the name favoured by Aung San Suu Kyi. It is therefore likely the country will revert to being called Burma should she become leader.



Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Graham Cooke has been a journalist for more than four decades, having lived in England, Northern Ireland, New Zealand and Australia, for a lengthy period covering the diplomatic round for The Canberra Times.


He has travelled to and reported on events in more than 20 countries, including an extended stay in the Middle East. Based in Canberra, where he obtains casual employment as a speech writer in the Australian Public Service, he continues to find occasional assignments overseas, supporting the coverage of international news organisations.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Graham Cooke

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of Graham Cooke
Article Tools
Comment Comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy