home > by publication type > daily analysis > Myanmar’s Protests Trigger Reform Hopes
Email
| Author: |
|---|
Pro-democracy activists banded together in Yangon, Myanmar, but police arrested many in their ranks. (AP Images)
A series of protests (CSMonitor) by Buddhist monks and students in Myanmar summoned memories of much larger anti-government demonstrations nearly twenty years ago. The country, which until recently was known as Burma, responded to 1988 protests by launching a bloody crackdown and suppressing budding pro-democracy movements. Shortly thereafter, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested and her party’s victory in 1990 elections was never acknowledged.
Despite this history, democracy activists in Myanmar remain hopeful the latest disturbances, triggered by fuel price rises, could heighten international pressures (TIME) on Myanmar’s military regime. Reports indicate the rush of bad publicity (IHT) generated after the crackdown may have led to the release of a political prisoner. At the same time, however, officials moved to tighten restrictions (AP) on activists and blamed the unrest on Western support for democracy groups.
The timing of the protests is significant. The military junta recently wrapped up a fourteen-year constitutional convention, which the government cites as proof of its sincerity (Myanmar Times) in pursuing reforms. The Economist disputes this conclusion, however, saying the convention only further entrenched the regime’s rule.
Myanmar’s disturbances also revived concerns in Washington, which earlier this year led a push for UN Security Council pressure on Myanmar’s government. But Russia and China vetoed the proposed measures, saying the situation did not warrant Council action. Now it is unclear whether Bush will seek to revive Security Council pressures, though he did respond sharply (AP) to the government’s crackdown on protestors.
Myanmar has long been cited by human rights groups for severe abuses. A 2003 Council Task Force report deemed the country “one of the most tightly controlled dictatorships in the world.” The latest disturbances highlight a less-discussed problem—the plummeting of the country’s economy under a succession of military regimes since 1962. A UN index of human development standards in 2006 ranked Myanmar 130 of 177 countries.
Despite U.S. and EU sanctions, Myanmar’s junta has been bolstered by ties to India and China. Beijing and New Delhi compete for access to Myanmar’s giant offshore gas fields and natural resources such as timber and minerals. A recent report says China’s diplomatic support of Myanmar appears to have played a role in winning a gas contract for PetroChina.
Beyond energy, India also seeks strengthened ties with Myanmar’s regime on counterterrorism and defense as part of its “Look East” policy (WorldPress.org). Given these circumstances, a working paper (PDF) by the United States Institute of Peace says the United States and EU countries may find greater success if they work through Myanmar’s economic partners to apply additional pressure on political and human rights reforms.
Weigh in on this issue by emailing CFR.org.
In The Closing of the American Border, Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the Bush administration’s struggle to balance security and openness in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In Termites in the Trading System, Jagdish Bhagwati reveals how the rapid spread of preferential trade agreements endangers the world trading system.
America Between the Wars explores how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Twin Towers shaped the events, arguments, and politics of the world we live in today.
Complete list of CFR Books.
This report lays out a thoughtful agenda for U.S. policy toward the Democratic Republic of Congo, arguing that what happens there should matter to the United States--for humanitarian reasons as well as economic and strategic ones.
In this report, CFR Senior Fellow Michael A. Levi analyzes the potential use of deterrence in preventing terrorist groups from acquiring nuclear weapons and recommends a new approach to U.S. declaratory policy, as well as ways to improve U.S. capabilities to determine the sources of terrorist attacks.
Complete list of Council Special Reports.
This report argues that the United States must lead with domestic action on climate change and proposes a U.S. negotiating strategy for a global UN climate agreement that includes commitments from all major economies, while also promoting a less formal Partnership for Climate Cooperation that would focus the world's largest emitters on implementing aggressive emissions reductions.
This Task Force report examines changes in Latin America and in U.S. influence there, while taking account of the region's enduring importance to the United States. The Task Force offers an agenda for U.S. policy toward Latin America and identifies four critical areas that should provide the basis of a new U.S. approach.
About Independent Task Forces at CFR.
Foreign Affairs has compiled a collection of articles that offer policy prescriptions to some of the world's most pressing problems.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1-212-434-9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
To request permission to reuse Council materials, please email publications@cfr.org or fax +1.212.434.9859.
Please include the complete information of the requested work—author, title, sections/pages to be copied or reprinted, and number of copies to be made—along with a brief description of where and how you would like to reuse the work.
You may also request permission for Council material through Copyright Clearance Center. For more information, please click on the link below.
Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
Global Economy 