President Barack Obama’s visit to Myanmar in mid-November made headlines around the world. Much of the coverage of Obama’s visit has been located within a narrative that has dominated international media coverage of Myanmar’s political change. We are told that Myanmar is going through a straightforward transition from military-ruled junta to democratic state.
Many events in Myanmar’s recent history fit easily into this narrative, and give the international community reasons to be optimistic. Under president Thein Sein’s reforms, over three hundred political prisoners have been released from prison, censorship laws have been relaxed, and the government has created a Human Rights Commission to investigate potential human rights violations. Significantly, Aung San Suu Kyi — an opposition leader and symbol of hope and democratic change for many in Myanmar — was released from house arrest and allowed to run in the last by-election.
In spite of these positive changes, there are many reasons to be skeptical as to whether Myanmar is on the fast track to democracy. According to Human Rights Watch, there are still hundreds of political prisoners who have yet to be released, sectarian conflict among Burma’s minority ethnicities has escalated, and state security forces continue to commit human rights violations.
Focusing on positive changes in Myanmar at the expense of these ongoing human rights violations has had real and devastating consequences. Just over a year ago, I worked for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in rural Thailand. IOM, along with many other organizations, assists the tens of thousands of refugees from Myanmar living in camps with emigration and other essential services. These humanitarian organizations rely on contributions from international donors.
As a product of the enthusiasm of the international community for Sein’s minimal reforms, many humanitarian organizations that provide essential services for refugees living in the border regions have seen substantial cuts in their funding. According to an article in the Asia Times, both the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the European Union have decreased contributions to refugee camps, choosing instead to funnel their contributions directly into Myanmar.
Obama recognized that Myanmar’s process of democratization is far from over during his trip. But according to professor Victor Falkenheim, who teaches a class on “Asian Authoritarianisms” at U of T, Obama’s visit undeniably gave Sein’s reforms an “implicit stamp of approval.”
Falkenheim’s class examines the factors that have allowed authoritarian regimes to survive in the midst of democratic changes elsewhere. According to him, the reason that ethnic conflicts have been ignored is that democratic reforms really deal with state institutions: “relations with ethnic minorities are secondary at this point in reform, and they’re a bit of a side show.”
While institutional reform may necessarily precede resolution with minorities, if Myanmar is to have real democratic change, the international community must hold it accountable for ongoing human rights violations. This is why it is essential that media coverage praising Sein’s reforms also recognize that such changes are really only a small step on the long road to democracy.
