World must watch postelection Myanmar

World must watch postelection Myanmar
The Yomiuri Shimbun

Myanmar's recent general election, its first in 20 years, was far from free and fair.

The party backed by the military junta declared victory, winning more than 80 percent of contested seats.

The military junta prohibited many pro-democracy activists, including Aung San Suu Kyi, who remained under house arrest during the election, from running or campaigning. In some regions inhabited by ethnic minorities, who account for 30 percent of the population, voting was not even held, with security problems cited as the reason.

The junta allowed neither monitoring of voting and ballot counting by international observers nor firsthand coverage by foreign media. It is likely the junta feared that fraudulent practices might be uncovered.

Given the situation, we cannot help but seriously doubt the legitimacy of the election.

By convening the parliament within 90 days and electing a president and other top national leaders, the junta aims to promote the appearance that it is "shifting to civilian rule" so that it can make a comeback in international society. The junta probably wants to break the deadlock it faces in both domestic politics and foreign relations.

Wolves in civilian clothing

But many of the ruling party members who have been declared election winners are high-ranking government officials and senior military officers under junta control. All they have done is take off their uniforms. The true nature of military rule seems unlikely to change.

It is imperative for international society to step up its monitoring of how the junta-controlled nation goes about transforming itself to "civilian rule."

Boasting abundant funds and strong organizational power, the junta fielded its own candidates in almost every constituency. One-fourth of all seats were automatically reserved for military officers. The election system thus was overwhelmingly advantageous to the junta.

Pro-democracy parties, including the National Democratic Force, took part in the election despite various restrictions, in the hope that they could win votes in urban areas. But they did not perform as well as expected.

The pro-democracy forces were split as iconic figure Suu Kyi called for a boycott of the election. This apparently led them to fail to obtain sufficient voter support.

With the completion of the election, the military junta was set to soon release Suu Kyi. But if she is not given freedom in her activities, her release will merely be an empty gesture.

The way forward

Releasing political prisoners, ending the suppression of ethnic minorities and achieving national reconciliation are the ways for Myanmar to improve its people's lives. The international community needs to unite in urging Myanmar to move in that direction.

However, China and India are strengthening their relations with Myanmar's junta in the quest for resources there, such as natural gas.

While the United States and Europe maintain their sanctions against Myanmar, Japan has tried to urge Myanmar to achieve democracy through its own engagement policy, which is limited to medical and other humanitarian assistance and human exchange programs. But this has hardly proved effective.

The government must reexamine its policy and make it truly effective.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 13, 2010)

(Nov. 14, 2010)