The present forms of engagement by the international community with the State Peace and Development Council, Burma is clearly not having the desired effect. The recent decision of the SPDC - commonly referred to as the military junta – to reject the requests of the United Nations, Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon to meet Aung San Suu Kyi clearly indicates the position of firmness and political stubbornness from which the junta approaches all forms of engagement. The failure to secure a meeting with Suu Kyi is clearly seen as another unsuccessful attempt to intervene in the former rice bowl of Asia. While Ban Ki-Moon is one of the few international figures that the top military junta is prepared to meet, their refusal to allow a meeting with Suu Kyi provides strong evidence of the need for a different approach in engaging with the junta.
The inability by the UN Secretary General to create a break-through during his recent visit to Burma has broader implications on the effectiveness and relevancy of the United Nations. While due credit must be given to Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for making one of the strongest speeches by an international figure in recent memory while still inside Burma; calling for the restoration of democracy, the fact remains that the credibility of the United Nations remains in question even as its authority in world affairs is rapidly waning. The division within the United Nations is blatantly apparent. The other implication points to the failure of the economic sanctions imposed on Burma by the US and other European countries. The fact remains that countries like Thailand, Singapore, UK, US, France, China and India have economic interest and have thus continued to maintain economic relations with Burma, despite the sanctions.
As of May 31, 2009, there are 424 oversea enterprises from 31 countries investing a total of 15767.43 million US dollars inside Burma. Of these, Thailand has the largest investment, followed by UK, Singapore and China. The economic sanctions therefore are proving to be a big sham and have certainly not created any conditions to prompt the military junta to heed to the call of the international community. Rather than enabling negotiations, that would restore democracy in Burma, the present politics of economic sanctions in Burma is acting as a deterrent to negotiations; and in effect reducing the relevancy of the United Nations in the Burma context. It therefore is not surprising that in the last 20 years, the UN has been unable to make any tangible progress. The present practice of the economic sanctions must cease; and new thinking on this area must take shape.
There is an acute need for the international community in equal partnership with communities and organizations inside Burma to evolve a new strategy for intervention that centers on a more comprehensive and inclusive vision for the people of Burma. There is no doubt that the present western attempt to isolate Burma from world affairs has only made the military junta comfortable in their siege mentality and such isolation is only further making them more right and apprehensive of any call for genuine political transformation in Burma. If progress is to be made, the present approach to isolate Burma needs some rethinking. There is a need for the world to engage with Burma on all international and diplomatic fronts, so that the military junta is held accountable and responsible for human rights and political freedom. The challenge is not to further close Burma; but to rather open up Burma so that political engagement is made possible.
