By Manik Mehta, Bernama
New York : At a crowded panel discussion at the Asia Society in New York on Tuesday evening, the panelists including Thaung Htun, a New York based senior representative for UN Affairs of the exiled National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, urged the Asean group, along with India and China, to pressure the Myanmar junta to change and pave the way for genuine democracy in that country.
Other panelists were Scot Marciel, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Sean Turnell, a co-founder and editorial board member of Burma Economic Watch and professor of economics at the Macquarie University, Australia.
The panelists, preferring to use the old moniker “Burma” instead of Myanmar, rejected the juntas recently announced “roadmap to democracy”, including its intention to conduct a national referendum to approve a new constitution in May, followed by a multiparty general election in 2010.
“How can this be a credible referendum when the new constitution is being drafted by people who have been handpicked by the junta? The move also lacks credibility because many opposition politicians, including the pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, have been barred from participating in the election on the grounds that they have been convicted. These leaders have been held in detention by the junta,” Thaung questioned.
After making some initial concessions to assuage the international outcry over the juntas brutal crackdown on monks and oppositionists a few months back — the junta allowed in a UN human rights investigator and even permitted a government meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi — the panelists alleged that the Myanmar junta has, in fact, become even more repressive than before.
The participants in the panel discussion did not rule out a “saffron revolution” taking place in Myanmar, the term apparently connoting that saffron-robe attired Buddhist monks could take to the streets along with civilian and opposition politicians to protest against the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as the junta calls itself.
The killing of monks by army troops shocked the countrys Buddhist population for whom the killings are akin to sacrilege.
“We want peaceful, non-violent change. The killing of the monks makes the Burmese regime appear morally bankrupt in the eyes of the people. Many Burmese were horrified to see peaceful monks getting killed by soldiers. This has stirred even senior monks, who had in the past refrained from taking active part in the demonstrations but now want to get actively involved in opposing the junta,” Thaung told Bernama in an interview.
He said that peaceful transition to democracy in Myanmar was also in the interest of the Asean group.
“Burma will continue to be a thorn in the flesh of Asean which has been trying to create a free trade zone. Asean is called upon to help resolve the crisis in Burma by making it clear to the junta that it must initiate an all-inclusive process of dialogue involving all parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi,” Thaung said.
The UN envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, has failed to extract any concession from the SPDC during his last three visits to Myanmar, even though Gambari claimed that the Myanmar generals are looking at Indonesia as a model to effect a transition from military to civilian rule and, ultimately, to democracy.
But he also felt that the Myanmar junta was “learning” from the experiences of Thailand which had moved from military dictatorship to civilian rule.
However, Gambari was rebuffed when he urged the junta to amend its “road map to democracy” to include input from the country’s pro-democracy movement and other political parties.
Scot Marciel, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, spoke of the “intense diplomatic involvement” of the United States in Myanmar, particularly after the crackdown on Myanmar demonstrators last September.
Rejecting allegations that the US was not doing enough to bring about change in Myanmar, Marciel said: “We are a nation based on freedom which we try to promote worldwide.
“Burma is a compelling case. Consequently, Burmas path is worrying us. Burmas record has steadily declined in every field — from human rights through economic corruption to public health.
“Burmas major exports, besides precious stones and natural gas, also include refugees, disease and drugs. Burmas present regime, which lacks legitimacy, support and ideas, should organise a broad-based dialogue with all parties in accordance with the UNs call for an all-inclusive dialogue.”
Transparency International, which indexes the level of corruption in each country of the world, rated Myanmar amongst the worlds most corrupt nations.
Marciel urged India, China and the Asean countries to exercise their influence on Myanmar.
However, Marciel acknowledged that the US had limited leverage against the junta. “The sanctions may not have worked so far, but we believe it is important to keep up pressure. The situation in Burma will get worse if the political prisoners are not soon released.”
He urged the international community “to stop saying that sanctions do not work”.
Sean Turnell, an economics professor at Australias Macquarie University and editorial board member of Burma Economic Watch, criticised Myanmars macroeconomic policies as “erratic”.
Turnell said that Myanmar had recently signed to get a nuclear reactor from Russia although its people are denied basic medical care.
“Burma spends a lot more than it produces. If it needs cash, the junta simply prints money,” he said.
The regime has survived because it gets revenue from the sale of gas. More gas exploration continues in the Bay of Bengal, mainly to meet Chinas insatiable energy appetite.
“The money the junta derives from the sale of gas is kept in its own account and does not flow into the national economy,” Turnell said.