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Burma: Country in Crisis
| EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
For most of us, Burma is a far-off Southeast Asian land of which we know little. Images of shining pagodas, elephants, and flying fish at play along the mighty Irrawaddy River-Rudyard Kipling's famous "Road to Mandalay"-may come to mind. But Burma's reality today has little in common with romantic legends. For most of its modern history following independence from Britain in 1948, Burma has been run by an army-controlled socialist regime that has isolated the country, wrecked its economy, and repressed its ethnically diverse peoples. In 1988, a massive and peaceful "people power" movement demanded an end to dictatorship. The army reacted fiercely to preserve its rule. On 18 September 1988, a new junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), seized direct power to quell the democracy movement. Crowds of peaceful protesters were machine-gunned by troops; thousands died. For a few days, events in Burma captured world headlines. The spotlight of global attention again shone briefly in December 1991, when detained democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet to most of the world, Burma still remains unknown. The SLORC generals changed the country's official name in English to Myanmar, a transliteration of the country's Burmese language name. This change, done by decree and without public consultation, has been rejected by Burma's democratic opposition. In November 1997, the generals renamed their own junta the State Peace and Development Council, in hopes of improving their international image. But by any name, Burma deserves increased attention and global concern for several reasons. First, the people of Burma suffer under one of the world's most brutal and repressive regimes. The United Nations, world religious leaders from Pope John Paul II to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, many governments, and human rights groups have urged an end to human rights violations in Burma. The military regime's response so far has been intensified abuse, including murder, torture, rape, political imprisonment, and massive forced labor. The junta allows Burmese citizens no say in the shaping of their own future. There is no free expression or freedom of association in Burma. Even possession of an unlicensed modem, fax machine, or copier is punishable by long prison sentences. Severe human rights abuses, especially against ethnic minority peoples, have driven hundreds of thousands of Burmese to seek uncertain exile in neighboring countries. Second, the junta's get-rich-quick economic plans are devastating Burma's environment and damaging the regional ecological balance as well as the country's long-term economic prospects. Huge tracts of rainforest have been clearcut for valuable hardwoods, destroying the traditional lands of ethnic minorities and the last habitats of numerous endangered species. Fisheries have been stripped for quick commercial profit. And natural gas and other mineral exploitation is proceeding with no apparent concern for environmental effects or local populations. Third, the military regime allows, and apparently profits from, an explosion of heroin and methamphetamine production. Cease-fires with several ethnic opposition armies that have long traded drugs have contributed to massive increases in Burma's heroin production since the junta took power in 1988. Around the world, this flood of cheaper and purer heroin is causing a vast new wave of addiction. In recent years, much of the heroin reaching the United States has been of Burmese origin. In Burma itself, an estimated half million addicts are spreading an AIDS epidemic at a rate equaling the world's worst-affected areas in Central Africa, a plague that is traveling on heroin exports routes from Burma throughout Asia. A fourth important concern is Asia's security. Burma occupies a strategic position linking South and Southeast Asia and borders the continent's two most populous countries, China and India. Independent Burma had long pursued a policy of neutrality. To the alarm of many countries, the military regime is now increasingly dependent on China as a political ally and arms supplier. Fear of Chinese military influence in Burma is helping to spur a costly regional arms race which diverts funds desperately needed for human development. Gross human rights abuses, environmental devastation, massive narcotics smuggling, regional military destabilization-these are Burma's realities under the junta's absolute rule. Before the SLORC took power in 1988, a quarter-century of self-imposed isolation wrecked the once-buoyant economy and impoverished the nation. The junta seeks international investment, trade, and tourism to bolster both its finances and its legitimacy. The global community has taken some actions to deny the junta this crucial prop to its rule. Pro-democracy groups have called for an international arms embargo to block the military from emptying the already meager national treasury to buy weapons needed solely to suppress domestic dissent. Some analysts believe stringent economic sanctions building on the 1997 U.S. ban on new investment and European and Canadian trade restrictions can pressure the generals to respect human rights and negotiate a transition to democratic government. Grassroots action by community groups, unions, and students (including consumer boycotts, demonstrations, shareholder actions), coupled with sanctions legislation, have convinced many international companies to pull out of Burma or not begin doing business there. Pressing for increased international involvement with the military regime are people who argue that trade and tourism can promote respect for human rights. Some claim that "constructive engagement" could convince the junta to fight drug trafficking and to reduce its reliance on China. A few declare simply that business and human rights are separate issues that should not be mixed. The junta itself, backed by a few Asian autocrats, asserts that it respects human rights in an "Asian" or "Burmese" context and that internationally-recognized standards do not apply. Today, Burma's citizens are all but excluded from this debate over their future. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi defies the generals by speaking out for democracy. Yet hers is an isolated voice in a land dominated by censorship and fear. The debate on international policy towards Burma is reaching a critical stage, with the United Nations and many individual governments increasing pressure on the junta to accept democratic reform. We hope this booklet gives interested people facts they need to lend their voices to the debate in an informed, rational, and constructive manner.
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Burma: Country in Crisis was prepared by Open Society Institute's Burma project
Content: Republished with permission from Open Society Institute
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