Myanmar’s Path to Democracy

http://ospr3y.wordpress.com/2008/10/02/democracy-and-human-rights/

When one thinks of the concept of democracy and human rights, Myanmar certainly does not spring into mind. Unlike the other members of Asean, Myanmar or Burma as some nations still regard it, has yet to adopt a system of government resembling any form of what one would describe as a democracy. Myanmar’s failure to make the transition to democracy can be largely attributed to the ever-diminishing prospects for reconciliation between the military-led junta, the State Peace and Developmental Council (SPDP) and the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) (Kyaw, 2003)

The current political situation in Myanmar can be traced back to 1990, when the NLD decisively won a general election called by the military junta. However, Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the NLD and daughter of national hero Aung San did not see power handed over to her party. Instead, the junta’s reluctance to hand over power saw Aung San Suu Kyi placed under house arrest – an event that invariably led to international outcry. Over the years, the military junta has twice released the pro-democratic leader only to have her arrested again. For example, in 2003, the government arrested several NLD members, placed Aung San Suu Kyi under ‘protective custody’ and closed NLD offices throughout the country. These actions were, according to the Myanmar government, in response to the commotion caused by unruly NLD members and their supporters which resulted in a number of casualties. (Kyaw, 2003) The international community, being largely pro-democracy was of course not exactly willing to accept the word of the junta. Most felt that the clash between the government and NLD was premeditated and served as an excuse for eliminating the NLD threat to their power.


The military junta of Myanmar has also been widely criticized by other countries for failing to provide its people with basic human rights. Apart from politically stifling its people, the Myanmese government hardly did any good to its international reputation by cracking down on protesting Buddhist monks in 2007. The protests, sparked off by the doubling of fuel prices, caused massive numbers of people to join these monks in demonstrations calling for economic, political and social reforms. The government’s response to this was one of violence and contempt. Almost a year later in 2008, the military junta further tarnished its name in the international spotlight by refusing foreign aid after being stricken by the deadly Cyclone Nargis. Furthermore, they refused to issue visas to United Nations relief teams whose jobs were to ensure the victims of the disaster were receiving the aid they desperately needed. Though it was estimated that the lives lost due to the tragedy numbered in the tens of thousands with millions more ending up homeless, the Myanmese government remained adamant about their decision.


The path to democracy for Myanmar looks tumultuous at best. Then again, it is difficult to think of any democratic nation that has risen through totally peaceful means. In the international scene however, Myanmar may be seen as lagging behind with already about 62% of all countries embracing democracy (Zakaria, 2003) The most recent attempts to reconcile Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD with the military junta through the aid of United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari have been widely regarded as failures. International pressure for Myanmar to turn to democracy may be high but the notion of it being the most viable method to solve Myanmar’s problems cannot simply be taken for granted. To quote Winston Churchill, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Presumably however, democracy brings with it the idea that the rights of the people will be protected – something which Myanmar and the rest of the world is striving for in the first place. Only time can tell if this will ever materialize and eventually eradicate the numerous issues that malign Myanmar.

This entry was posted on October 2, 2008 at 10:35 am and is filed under Democracy and Human Rights . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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