Tag: Myanmar

Extempers who are juniors or seniors this year might remember the protests that threatened the ruling government of Myanmar, a country also referred to as Burma by much of the international community, in the fall of 2007.  These protests, led by monks and political dissidents of Myanmar’s military junta, were in response to the junta removing fuel subsidies but eventually acquired a more democratic flavor.  However, this so-called Saffron Revolution was quelled by the beating, imprisonment, and killing of its participants and thus, Myanmar’s second attempt at acquiring a democratic government since 1962 failed.

At a time when globalization has brought a degree of prosperity to the Southeast Asian region and as countries in that region, such as Indonesia, are playing a more prominent role in global affairs, Myanmar’s junta sticks out like a sore thumb.  The junta proclaims that its autocratic governance is justified in order to keep Myanmar’s multi-faceted ethnic groups together under one umbrella.  However, the junta has used its position and Myanmar’s plethora of natural resources, to enrich and protect itself.  This style of governing has turned what was once Southeast Asia’s richest country (during the British colonial period) to one of the region’s most impoverished.

The urgency of this brief is in Senator Jim Webb’s (D-Virginia) recent visit to Myanmar.  During this visit, Webb met with the head of the junta, General Than Shwe, and the country’s most vocal democrat, Aung San Suu Kyi.  Webb’s visit has brought back some international attention to events that are unfolding in Myanmar.  This, coupled with the State Department’s concern about Myanmar’s military ambitions and alliances, makes the country a hot topic that extempers may encounter in the early part of this year.

This brief will provide some background concerning the historical tensions in Myanmar, the circumstances surrounding Webb’s visit, and discuss strategies for the international community to better engage Myanmar.

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By Logan Scisco

Over the last two months the nation of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been in the news as its people fight for democratic representation from a military junta known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) who have ruled the country for the last forty-five years.  In their forty-five year governance of the country the SPDC, which has gone through a large litany of name changes since it took power in 1962, has weakened the country’s economy to the point where the heroin trade thrives along the Thai and Chinese borders and the black market is one of the only ways people can secure commercial items.  To add to these problems, the SPDC still has tensions with the various ethnic groups in Myanmar such as the Karen and the Wa which have led to human rights violations and military conflicts in the country’s frontier areas.

The SPDC maintains its position in the country through an intricate network of repression and fear.  This network of military intelligence has been strengthened since 1990 when the military’s party received a drubbing by the National League for Democracy (NLD) in parliamentary elections, the first held in Myanmar since 1960.  After losing this election, the military annulled the results and jailed opposition leaders.

However, there have been times when the international community has hoped to see change in Myanmar.  One such incident occurred two months ago in September when protests emerged in the country after petrol prices were increased.  The military junta quickly put down these protests but in the course of doing so several Buddhist monks, arguably the most influential people in Myanmar aside from the SPDC, were beaten.  In response, the monks refused to accept alms from members of the SPDC thereby damaging their prospects of being reborn in a good position in the next life according to Buddhist doctrine.  As the international community watched on CNN and other media outlets, the SPDC quickly struck back at protesters, killing and injuring media journalists, students, regular civilians, and Buddhist monks effectively crippling the movement for change.  During their crippling of this movement the junta prevented people from having access to the Internet and silenced telecommunications throughout the country showing the variety of tools at the junta’s disposal to silence opposition movements in the country.

This topic brief will provide extempers with a brief overview of the history of Myanmar, an overview of the human rights abuses said to be occurring in the country, Myanmar’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the mechanisms utilized by the junta to hold on to power.

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