Myanmar's yearning for democracy has reached a new high -- so has its repression.
In the past two weeks, thousands of pro-democracy protesters, led by monks, have risked a brutal police force and taken to the streets demanding that democracy be restored. The ruling military junta has responded with batons and bullets. Hundreds of monks leading the protest have disappeared - no one knows where they are being held - and thousands of monks are leaving Rangoon to escape being targeted by the junta. At least here, the junta's strategy of targeting the monks to render the movement leaderless seems to have succeeded. The death toll, including monks, has been estimated from 10 to 200, which points to the tight gag on information to prevent it from leaking out.
The military junta, which has more or less ruled Myanmar ever since 1962, has a pathetic human rights record. Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won a sweeping victory in the 1990 elections, is the only Nobel laureate to be held under house arrest for the better part of the last 18 years. Suu Kyi is incommunicado, and the junta forbids any meeting between her and journalists. It is only now that the junta has appointed an official to liaise with Suu Kyi, owing to increasing pressure from the U.N.
What has kept the junta going in the face of stiff opposition is the indifference of the international community and Myanmar's neighbors turning a blind eye to the crisis to the point of complicity. Myanmar is not of strategic importance, which partly explains the indifference of the international community. This also points to capitalism as the driving motor of democracy.
India and China, which enjoy some leverage over the Myanmar government, are hesitant to seek the restoration of democracy in the country. India, which prides itself in being the world's largest democracy, has maintained a silence over the repression, which is intriguing. While this runs against India's philosophical commitment to democracy and nonviolence, it is also a bad decision when looked at from the viewpoint of realpolitik as countries are cautious about disturbances in their backyard. Any delay in addressing this crisis will not only escalate it, but also send ripples throughout Southeast Asia, and it might not be long before India finds itself in the throes of the problem.
Another country that can pressure the military junta to concede democracy is the U.S. In fact, President Bush announced tighter sanctions on Myanmar on Sept. 25 in a bid to arm-twist the military junta to give in to the demand to reinstate democracy. But considering that a U.S. economic embargo has been in place against Myanmar for the past 30 years, this will be of little help. The U.S. would be better advised to call upon China to force Myanmar to stop the crackdown on protesters. While China might not give in to this demand, the U.S., by making such a move, can send a signal to the world that it is interested in restoring democracy in the world - be it in Iraq or in Myanmar.
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