Thant Myint-U

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Myanmar Needs a New Kind of Democracy

MundoAsia,

Myanmar needs a fresh path to democracy. Free and fair elections (and respect for the results) are essential. But also essential is the transformation of a society shaped by decades of dictatorship, international isolation, brutal armed conflict, racial and religious discrimination, extreme poverty and widening inequality. A narrow focus on political change will mean only the continued military domination of this country of 54 million people.

Since the military coup on Monday, dozens of prominent political figures — including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi — have been detained, and a new administration under the army commander in chief is now in charge.…  Seguir leyendo »

Rebels of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance, one of the groups the government hopes will endorse a nationwide cease-fire. Credit Reuters

MundoAsia,

Myanmar is one step away from a historic deal that could end seven decades of internal armed conflict. On Aug. 6-7 representatives of the Myanmar government, including from the armed forces, met with leaders of the country’s ethnic armed groups and finalized the text of the Nationwide Cease-Fire Agreement.

The N.C.A. took a year and a half of negotiations — I helped advise the government during that time — and required difficult compromises on all sides. It is no simple truce, but rather a complex set of military and political undertakings. It also provides early measures to begin comprehensive political talks about constitutional reform and the long-divisive issue of federalism, and about a formal peace agreement that would permanently end the war.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia

Myanmar, sandwiched between China and India, is at its most important political watershed since the establishment of army rule in 1962. Over the next few weeks, the Obama administration can make a big difference in determining whether historic reforms under way there will lead to Asia’s newest democratic transition. President Obama should publicly support the changes taking place, and back up those words with actions to end the country’s isolation, before hard-liners who oppose reform are able to push back.

Six months ago it was difficult to be optimistic. Elections had been held but they had been widely condemned as being far from free and fair.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAsia

Twenty years of sanctioning and lecturing Burma's military regime have failed. The West needs to engage with Burma's leaders, increase humanitarian aid and reopen commercial relations with the country. If it doesn't, not only will positive change remain as elusive as ever, but the country will turn quickly and irreparably into an economic vassal of China.

In a sign of just how impervious the regime is to Western pressure, last week, opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to her fourth spell of house arrest. Two thousand political prisoners remain locked up. And a transition to democracy appears nowhere in sight.…  Seguir leyendo »