Burma’s Peaceful Transition to a Democratic Future Essay

Burma is an Asian rude that attained its independence on 4th January 1948 and is bordered by chinaw be on the nitrogen and Thailand on the East. it was referred to as the coupling of Burma in 1948. On January 4th 1974 it changed its name to the union of Burma and then on 23rd September, 1888 it reverted to the union of Burma. In 1989, then it changed the name again to the union of Myanmar and this was through the efforts by the state law and order restoration council (SLORC). It is a country whose world has had a circularise of significance in Burmas politics.The Burmese politics is known as Myanmar and assumed an authoritarian feature that is decreed by a troops leader. in that respect sire been substantial efforts to switch to a more(prenominal) parliamentary moves that these efforts micturate be hampered by the array which is against this move for physical exercise in 1990, a parliamentary semipolitical relation was pick out exactly the Burmas soldiers coul d non let it to convene. Burma has a people of about 50 million people and has 500,000 troops who have been parcel the administration to create a regime of fear by denying the citizens about of their basic counterbalances. some(prenominal) democratic leaders have come up and visualized a viable idea of freeing the people from the twist they get from the disposal. In 1992 with his party the National League for Democracy, managed to scoop 82 % of all countrys parliamentary seats merely the armament regime which hired dictatorship principles declined to transfer power to the leaders that were democratically elected. For more than ten grades afterwards, Aung San Suu kyi was put on house sustain and was rel sticking(p) exclusively in 2002.Her release was viewed by some as the only hope to the establishment of Burmese democratic governing that would be keen to the peoples needs unfortunately in 2003 herself and m each of her supporters were killight-emitting diode by a rowdy mob that was sponsored by the governance. This conflict between the mass and the minority became evident after Burma achieved independence in 1948. It was at this magazine that Aung San Suu was restrainn the mandate to control all those aras that traditionally were non controlled by only single community.After 1948 when the Burmese constitution was signed, constitution right have not been exercised on the minorities, they a resembling do not have pieces of land and especially those that formerly belonged to their people. Since the war period, the Burman minorities have been sidelined by the volume who be the Burmese Burma was a British colony from the 1920s and this act up to 1948. Though the Burmas heartland was ruled directly by the colonial powers, the surrounding regions were allowed to rule themselves and this led the loyalty to split along the cultural lines.The dominant ethnic group is the Burmese that comprise of 68 pct of the self-coloured population and minority accounts for the remaining 32 percent. Religion in Burma has played a key role in causing promote divisions. in that location are galore(postnominal) religious in Burma for example on that point are Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. These religious divisions have been aggravating the situations for example in 1991 more than a quarter million Muslims were evicted from their dentures.This was exacerbated by the fact that thither were m any(prenominal) alliances formed. They were forced to cross the border to Bangladesh where they were meeted as refugees by the Bangladesh government but were helped by the planetary community with the basic needs. Today, the Burmese government is led a prime minister whose regime is greatly charge of displacing thousands of Burmese communities both internally and externally, some community much(prenominal) as Karen, Mon and Kareni were forced to seek refuge in Thailand.Those that are inter populationally displaced slang a better treatmen t than those that are internally displaced as the later are mistreated by the military. It is estimated that about 600,000 citizens have been internally displaced and are constantly looking for ways they could avoid sla in truth(prenominal). They are used as slaves by this government as many an new(prenominal)(prenominal) of them are conscripted in the host by force or are left with no separate choice except from joining the drug ne twainrk that is sponsored by the state. There are various movements that have been trying to free the population of Burma from military.Some of these are the Junta, the Karen National Union and the Moi Tai army though their efforts did not materialize because most of the current military officials are from the community with the legal age that oppresses the minorities. So, it is really hard to make any advance but there is atomic number 53 very vibrant group that has mobilized the minorities to participate in a non-violent peaceful demonstration. Led by Buddhist monks, these people protested against the abuse of piece rights and matched in groups of more than hundred thousand protestors in the streets.The Head of the postulate, familiar Shwe who is similarly the ch broadcastman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is greatly criticized by the United States and the European governments which have imposed various sanctions that are implement thorough consumer boycotts. The United States of America and the European governments using their influence led another(prenominal) Western races to stop cooperating with Burma. Though these governments have been relentless(prenominal) in enforcing bans against Burma, some westbound companies are still cooperating due to some loopholes in sanction application.Most of these are the oil companies. Such as the American oil company and the French oil company. Also Cherron and the Yadana pictorial screw up pipeline that runs from Burma all the way to Thailand is so much in use. There are still Asian businesses that operate in Burma for example the Daewoo caller-out that invests in extracting resources. The United States government in collaboration with the European governments also imposed sanctions on Burmas clothing as well westerly nations to stop sourcing from Burma and more particularly those shops that were either partially or all supported by the government.After those peaceful protests, a good human activity of people stopped getting their products from Burma and these were led by an mortal like Levi Strauss who was very vibrant in charge up with the fight against the government products for example from 1992,many American cloth and shoes companies stopped acquiring their properties from Burma. In 2003, the united government banned Burmas imports as in consistency with the Burmese freedom and democracy Act that was amended in the year 2003 however, some people have attacked this United States strategy of forcing this government to m istreat push down as has led many people to suffer greatly. disdain these critics, the move was supported by the Burmese democratic movement and has sibylline by the Burmese democratic movement and has vowed to keep encouraging the horse opera world to impose harder and stricter sanctions against the military government (Smith M. 1991) Burma insurgency and the politics of ethnicity capital of the United Kingdom and New Jersey. Zed books. The human watches in Burma have highlighted all the crimes against world but there is no judiciary to address the problem any such move faces strong opposition from the military government.There is no free communication that is allowed by the Burmese military government in fact no one is allowed to access the internet and the search engines such as Google, G mail, hotmail and yahoo so the Burmese citizens are less informed. What the government has done is that it does not allow these companies to operate in its territory and as such they are b locked. If people have to access materials from the internet, they essential first of all be filtered and censor by the military government. They use US filtering soft wares such as the Fortinet to censor emails, web pages and pro-democratic pages.In Burma, child soldiers are forcefully conscripted. They are also forced to avenge their fellow military friends by being giving death threats incase they do not as they bare told. Children are conscripted in army by force. These children are promised to be jailed if they do not accept to join the army. Since the military regime usurped power in 1962, after overthrowing sthe democratically elected government, this regime has been one of the worst violators of human rights in the whole universe.The climax reached after the (SLORC) State Law and Order Restoration Council was changed To State Peace And Development Council sometimes back in 1997, November. This party in 1988 seized the states powers established itself and forcefully remov ed the little pretence that was there that they were upholding the self-respect of the citizens and took part in massacring the demonstrates who were demonstrating against the creation of this undemocratic regime. They were marching in the streets of Rangoon and Burmese towns and cities when the military forces descended on them killing thousands.According to the comment that was made by the amnesty world-wide human rights violation and torture were like a Burmese institution and they even listed various forms of abuses that were perpetrated by this corrupt regime. This pass over was further affirmed by the United Nations and other human rights watchdog. These abuses that they listed were for example torture, murder, litany abuses, forced displacements of citizens, holding or arresting individuals and keeping them in cargo deck houses without trials and various litany abuses.These were the activities that were characteristic of this military regime and citizens have suffered eno rmously at a lower place it. Children were also abused by the military that forcefully conscript them in the army and also the villagers were forced to work for the military. Children are reportedly give tongue to to have been raped and defiled by the troops. The military operations that are from time to time asked in various villages and these led to deterioration of animation standards for example this was observeed in Karen state and Shan state in 2001.This has forced many to be to run away to the neighboring states such as Thailand season those who are unable to move out of the country were internally displaced. The internally displaced and lived in the camps for internally displaced received very harsh treatment by the ruling military regime than those who manage to seek refuge in the neighboring states. The military regime do not in any way follow the internationally agreed freedoms for example the civil and political rights though Burma is a signatory to various interna tional peace accords.Everything that happens in this country must be censored including the exhibitions. There is completely no freedom of expression. Even publications are not spared as they are censored by the government infact it is only sports and romance magazines are not censored. The broadcast media houses are state owned and the government has the monopoly over them. They only air education that is favorable to them for example you it is common to see juntas generals making speeches and from these stations and instead they go for less biased information. The SLOPCS has been very determined in curtailing the freedom of speech.Though they try to censor the information given by the public media, there are international ones that give more accurate information and these are what people rely on. These are stations such as the British broadcasting partnership (BBC), the democratic voice of Burma, radio Free Asia and the Voice of America (VOA). Apart from these international rad io stations, any other person who goes against this decree risked twenty historic period imprisonment as per the 1996 decree. These are some of the laws that are enforced by this government without any regard to the international law standards.Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls and abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the ahead of time 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure down the stairs the Burmese Socialism, but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macrostinting imbalances including a steep inflation rate and an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate.Burma is a nation that is rich in various natural resources for example the country has edite such as pearls and rubies. The country is also rich in natural gases. In 1962 its economy was per forming well when compared to other economies of the developing nations but the socialist party which assumed power later changed the economic precondition of Burma for example it replaced the capitalism mode of economy with socialism that advocated for central readying as opposed to central planning. imputable to this economic change it became one of the poorest developed nations of world.In addition, most overseas development supporter was cut after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and later ignored the results of the 1990 election. A crisis in the private banking sector in early 2003 followed by economic moves against Burma by the United States, the European Union, and Japan including a US ban on imports from Burma and a Japanese freeze on new bilateral economic avail further weakened the Burmese economy. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate.Published estimates of Burmas foreign trade are greatly understated because o f the size of the wispy market and border trade often estimated to be one to two times the official economy. Better dealing with foreign countries and relaxed controls at home are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism. In February 2003, a study banking crisis hit the countrys 20 private banks, shutting them down and disrupting the economy. In July and August 2003, the United States imposed a ban on all Burmese imports and a ban on provision of pecuniary services, hampering Burmas ability to obtain foreign exchange.As of January 2004, the largest private banks remained moribund, going away the private sector with little formal access to credit alfresco of government contracts. In Burma the rate of unemployment is very high and the prices of commodities are very high and life standards are very high. According to one businessman state that the situation in Burma was moving from bad to worse and that there was looming danger of social unrest, lectures, profe ssors and pipeline construction workers are poorly p forethought.Due the constant mass uprising by the democratic movement against this regime, it was rendered fall in in 1988 in the onset of the 21st century, it was on the lowest income generating countries in the world but it has greatly reversed this situation because it dropped its economic isolationism. It has also welcomed the foreign investors in its economy so that it would strengthen its military bases. In response to its call, UNOCAL and TOTAL oil companies came to its rescue. In Burma, there are military controlled economic sectors such as Myanmar economic holdings limited and the Myanmar economic corporation that is, UMEH and MEC respectively.These two industries which are controlled by the Burmese military are the ones that dominate the economic sector of Burma. UMEH is geared towards military change while MEC is geared towards shifting the defense cost from the public sector to the private ones but both corporations have a part to play in strengthening the military base of Burma. Though European Union has been imposing economic sanctions to Burma its sanctions are not as stricter as those of the United States. It has invested a lot in Burma and it doesnt want to lose the much that it has invested.United States has been very keen in reinforcing the bans or sanctions that have been imposed on Burma. The US government particularly has imposed a ban on its investments in this country and has also placed a ban against Burmese exports. Since the bans were proposed, US is the only nation that has implemented them. In the past, the European Union has not been imposing strict sanctions but starting from last year it has change magnitude economic sanctions on precious metals and on imports such as stone and timber but they still demand for fresh elections to be held and human rights to be respected.It is only thorough these ways that the country can witness a transition from military rule to a democra tic one. It had protruding its sanctions basing its reasoning on its above conditions. Japan has been very friendly to Burma. It has neer failed to support this military regime though on a small(a) scale. Infact it is one of the major donor in Burma but it is reconsidering its foreign constitution on Burma especially after a Japanese journalist was killed. It said that it would cut the aid that Burma gets from it. The other reason for it to withhold its financial aid was in 2003 when San Suu Kyi was kept in detention by the Junta.They believed that was the only lift out move that would pressurize the military regime to address the democratic principles that have never been allowed to take root in this regime. In 2002,Japan supported Burmas government with 17 million US dollars on top of that it gave Burma the adept support it needed Japan which was all this time shying away from enforcing sanctions on Burma as the US and UK were doing, it changed its policy after this saga. Th e British government pressurized the European Union to increase sanctions until san Suu Kyi was realized but it was assured that these sanctions would be eased if Suu Kyi was released.That nation that seems to support Burma or appears or appears or appears to be every year to Burma face violation by the US and UK government and this has occurred to china and North Korea. This is based on misconception that these close friends would be providing economic support to this government that has little regards for its citizens. The United States for example was very bitter because Burmese government suppressed democracy and imposed its will on people and that is wherefore it has imposed sanctions.The heroic stature of Aung San Suu Kyi has greatly helped in making Myanmar to be recognized world wide. china has been blamed for helping this region for its support. The western world cannot sway the Juntas government for this to be effective, then the regional ASEAN countries such as India, Thailand and especially china must first be unforced to transform this government. China has been asking Myanmar to quell violence and control protesters but it seems this is falling on deaf ears.China has been helping Burma in international affairs management for example it has been very vibrant in keeping the issue of Burma out of the United Nations agenda but the United States and the British governments have been on the other side. Due to many economic sanctions that have been imposed on this regime, it adjusts it even hard to countenance aid to its people who living in poverty. The aid that Burmese gets is under par and is the lowest in the region especially when it compared with that of the local countries for example, an individuals aid is counted as 2.5 dollars per head while that of Laoss stands at 63 US dollars. China has been accused of providing Junta with military aid thus limiting the chances of democracy being realized. It has continued to conduct business relatio ns with. Burma but it is because of some factors that are understandable and some of these are that Burma is rich in useful natural gases that china is interest in again Burma provides China with an overland route to the Indian naval so Chinese government would not do anything to destroy its relations with Burma. Though there have been calls for better treatment of protestors, they fall on deaf ears.The amnesty international has been pressurizing the United Nations to impose embargos and sanctions on China so that peace in Burma would be realized. This is based on instinct that the Burmese military government relies on china for most of its assistance so, if china was to cut its military aid then, the Burmese government would be unable to control the nation there by creating a syllabus of peace transition. If the new government would come in place, it would not find it hard to sustain itself even without getting any financial aid from other countries.There are a lot of minerals that aid from other countries. There are a lot of minerals that would help the government to pay its entire government projects. The new government should create confidence among its citizens so that they would participate in the economy thereby making the economy of this nation even stronger. This government should also extend its business relations with other nations as many of them do not have those minerals and definitely they would be so much interested in them. Work cited. Altsean-Burma Alternative Asean cyberspace on Burmacampaigns, advocacy and capacity-building for human rights. 2008. Accessed on Wednesday, March, 2008 at http//www. altsean. org/ Andrew S. Burmas fortify Forces Power without Glory. Norwalk East Bridge. 2002 45-56 Burma net News. Accessed on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at www. burmanet. org BBC News. Analysis Burmas economic Crisis. 15th March, 2002, 1347 GMT Accessed at http//news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/1871326. stm Brookings. Quality, independence and impact. Retrieved on April 30, 2008 at www. brookings. edu Donald M. S.Burma-China dealing Playing with Fire. Asian Survey, Vol. 37, No. 6, 1997 533 International Crisis Group. Working To Reduce Crisis ground Wide. Retrieved on April 30, 2008 at http//www. crisisgroup. org/home/index. cfm Myanmar. com. New Light of Myanmar. April 30, 2008 Accessed on April 30, 2008. At http//www. myanmar. com Philip S. Robertson Sanctions Are Working in Burma. 2003. Online commentary at www. irrawaddy. org/com/2003/com31. html Accessed on August 2003. Smith M. Burma insurgency and the politics of ethnicity. London and New Jersey. 1991 78