America’s Role in Burma’s Struggle for Democracy

Irrawady News

Many in the world disagreed with the US invasion of Iraq and are not impressed with George W Bush’s foreign policy. But on Burma, the US administration has taken the moral high ground and remains an important ally to many Burmese democracy groups at home and abroad.

Since last year’s uprising, the Bush administration has imposed targeted sanctions on cronies working closely with Burma’s military leaders. US First Lady Laura Bush has also taken a serious interest in the Burmese democracy movement, holding meetings with dissidents in the White House or video teleconferences with prominent exiles. She has also issued several statements condemning the regime and asking Snr-Gen Than Shwe to step down.

America’s high-ranking officials have never shied away from criticism of the regime’s human rights violations, and when the regime announced plans to hold a referendum in May, they made it clear that the US government regarded the referendum as undemocratic.

White House spokesperson Dana Perino said, “We call on the Burmese government to comply with the United Nations call, last October, that this be an open and inclusive process that allows the Burmese people a fair say in the structure and form of their new government.”

Sean McCormack, a spokesperson for the US State Department, was even harsher in his assessment: “No referendum held under these conditions—a pervasive climate of fear in which virtually the entire population, including Aung San Suu Kyi, is under detention, and the Burmese people not being allowed to participate in or even discuss the drafting of a constitution—can be free, fair or credible.”

Recently, a Congressional resolution has called for President Bush to pressure the UN Security Council not to recognize the junta-drafted constitution.

The US has joined forces with fellow permanent members of the Security Council, the UK and France, to send a clear message to the regime and the world. Last January, for instance, the three countries issued a rare joint statement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland reminding the world of “the urgent need for progress towards a transition to democracy and improved human rights in Burma.”

Meanwhile, Burma’s neighbors have taken a very different approach to Burma. Surin Pitsuwan, the new head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), expressed support for the regime’s referendum: “It has to begin somewhere and now it has a clear, definite beginning. I think it is a development in the right direction.”

Burma’s bilateral relations with a number of countries have been governed primarily by economic or strategic considerations, and completely disregard the political wishes of the country’s people. Thailand and China both enjoy favorable trade relations with Burma, India seeks the assistance of Burmese leaders in its efforts to pacify its restive northeast, and Russia sells nuclear technology to the junta.

Even the EU, which appointed a special envoy on Burma after the September uprising, has no policy on the referendum.

In the absence of unity and a formal policy on Burma, America is taking the lead.

Christopher Hill, the US assistant secretary of state, recently warned that the US would continue to put diplomatic pressure on Burma. The measures include sanctions until a legitimate solution to the country’s problems is found.

“So let’s see if the Burmese authorities understand that we have a lot of options for dealing with Burma, but we do not have the option of turning our backs and forgetting the problem,” he said.

The senior US diplomat told CNN this year, “Burma, historically, is a country where, you know, one could have expected a lot of good things from Burma. In fact, if you look back to the 1950s, Burma was supposed to be one of the great success stories. So here it is, 50, 60 million people, bigger than the Republic of Korea, and yet it has had such a sad history in recent decades. So that’s a country that I would like to spend more time on.”

It is impossible to imagine China or India, or even Asean, expressing such a commitment to Burma.

America’s Burma policy is in line with Burma’s democratic forces inside and outside of the country. The US has consistently called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and an inclusive road-map process. So far, the US has given no indication that it intends to move away from its policy of supporting Burma’s people and its democratic forces. Without US support, only the sometimes indecisive EU governments would offer some sort of counterbalance to the regime’s relations with China, India, Asean, Russia and North Korea.

Since 1988, America has taken a strong stance towards the repressive regime in Burma. Thus, Burmese have always looked to the US in times of crisis.

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