Myanmar: The Fight for Democracy

Recently, the social-political status in Myanmar has been a topic of discussion in the international media. The erratic behavior of the military-based government(shown in action to the right) has resorted to violent tactics to ward off democratic opposition. The actions taken by the government have shocked the world. Reports of kidnappings and opening fire on crowds of protesters have instilled a sense of fear throughout the country, but it has not stopped efforts for a democratic change. The current leaders of the Myanmar junta have hypocritically claimed that their actions are justified to maintain “stability” within their nation, to me it seems more like a fear of change.

Myanmar has been fighting about democracy for the past forty-five years. The junta, a military-run government lead by Than Shwe, has control of the country, fighting against monks and other members of National League for Democracy (NLD) to keep democracy out of their politics. Last week was one of the largest protests and demonstrations against the junta, who retaliated and opened fire on the protesting crowds and arrested dozens on site. Inexplicable “disappearances” of pro-democratic leaders have been an increasing trend in Myanmar and have added to the severity of the situation. An observer quoted, “at least 85 protest leaders, over 1,000 monks, and between 300 and 400 students and activists were arrested". It is an attempt at silencing the voices of change. The government has tried to keep these protests (pictured left) out of international media as much as possible and have reportedly given false details of some of the more recent events. The entire country is under extremely tight surveillance, for example, “the military rulers have sought to limit news flowing out of Myanmar, with public Internet access restricted and mobile phone service sporadic for a fourth day in a row”. This kind of behavior may be perceived as hiding facts about what may really be happening.

On Sunday, a UN specific envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, was supposed to meet with leaders of the junta and the leader of the NLD in Myanmar in response to their bloody crackdown last week against the biggest pro-democracy protests in almost twenty years. However, his meetings were postponed due to the protests that had been going on throughout the week. Gambari had intentions of working out a solution to end this political crisis from which this country is suffering. Senior General Than Shwe, who ultimately has the power to change current policies, has conveniently made himself “unavailable” to meet with the UN envoy. This is a sure sign of resistance to any international pressure to become more democratic. Gambari was, however, able to talk with Suu Kyi, a major contributor and influence in the NLD, to see what her thoughts on the situation were.(pictured right) She was less than optimistic about coming to a peaceful or immediate agreement with a political power that is so intent on staying just the way that they are. The junta is content on having one major power ruling, much like a dictatorship, versus changing political leaders every few years.

There does not seem to be much hope for any drastic changes in the government, unless the military leaders realize that to achieve stability, there must be a compromise between the two fighting parties. Perhaps, if the UN envoy can influence Shwe to be more open to international suggestion, there would be less turmoil in Myanmar. Gambari is scheduled to meet with more members of the Myanmar government later on this week in hopes of making some progress towards a more peaceful. The members of the NLD and activist have vowed not to quit fighting to achieve democracy in their country.