President Barack Obama’s trip to Myanmar is the first by asitting US president. Human rights groups say the trip was premature and thatit is too early in Myanmar’s reform process to grant President Thein Sein thebenefits of a US presidential visit. For sure, more work is needed toconsolidate peace and progress in Myanmar. But Obama made the right decision. Avisit from the US president encourages Sein to continue down the path ofreform, while validating the Burmese people’s demands for freedom. The visitalso underscores a central feature of the Obama administration’s foreignpolicy: the idea that engagement is critical to encouraging a more open anddemocratic system.
Before Sein’s stunning pivot to the West, Burmese suffereddecades of dictatorship. In addition, Myanmar has been at war with armed ethnicgroups for nearly 60 years. The 1947 Panglong Treaty established the “fullautonomy in internal administration” of the country’s “Frontier Areas.” GeneralAung Sa, a pro-independence hero and signatory to the agreement, wasassassinated and the treaty languished. Aung Sa’s daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi,entered politics in 1988. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) swept the1990 election. However, the junta cancelled the tally, jailed Suu Kyi’s followers,and placed her under house arrest for 15 years. Civil discontent erupted againin 2007. Suu Kyi was barred from elections in 2010, which were boycotted by theNLD. Thein Sein, who served as a general and prime minister under the junta,became president in March 2011. He initiated a gradual process of reform, whichgained momentum and culminated in the dramatic democratic advances that aresweeping Myanmar today.
Sein freed more than 200 political prisoners in October2011. He relaxed restrictions on the NLD, which won 43 of the 45 seats itcontested in by-elections of April 2012. He released another 500 politicalprisoners in September 2012. On September 19, 2012, Secretary of State HillaryClinton announced that the US would withdraw sanctions on Myanmar. The USAgency for International Development (USAID) is launching in-country operationswith $170 million in projects over the next two years. The Obama administrationis not blind to the risk of backsliding. Nor is it Panglossian about Myanmar’sserious problems, which will take time to address.
Poverty is widespread, despite the country’s vast forest andmineral resources. Myanmar recently adopted a new law on Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI), in an effort to kick-start the economy and boost employment.But the bureaucracy is resisting economic reforms, with corruption deeplyentrenched the local level. Peace is fragile. In late 2011, ceasefireagreements were signed with prominent ethnic groups (e.g. Karen, Shan, Chin,Wa, Mon, and Mongla). However, none of these cease-fire agreements has resultedin a permanent peace agreement. The government and armed ethnic groups have notstarted negotiating the details of federal and other power-sharingarrangements.
More than 500,000 people have been displaced by ethnicconflict. About 200,000 Karen refugees are still in limbo on the Thai-Burmaborder. While the international community supports dignified return, securityand political conditions do not yet exist for their repatriation.
Sectarian strife is rampant. In Rakhine state, hundreds ofMuslim Rohingya have died and more than one hundred thousand displaced inviolent conflict with Buddhists. Myanmar’s 800,000 Muslim Rohingya have theirhistoric roots in West Bengal. They are denied citizenship in Myanmar andrejected by Bangladesh. The government lacks capacity to face the country’sdaunting challenges.
The US can contribute to a “peace dividend” aimed atdisarming, demobilising and reintegrating ex-combatants. The Peace DonorSupport Group and the Myanmar Peace Support Initiative are financed by Norway,other countries, and international financial institutions. A plan for Rakhineshould include humanitarian access, health services, livelihood programs, and astate-wide development plan. Myanmar’s 1982 citizenship law is discriminatoryand should be amended.
Engagement is critical to the Obama administration’sstrategic pivot towards Asia. In his remarks at Yangon University, PresidentObama acknowledged that democratisation is a process, not an event. Obama will,however, be judged by what he does not what he says. The US must commit thepolitical and financial resources to help shape events in Myanmar.
David L. Phillips is Director of the Program onPeace-building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study ofHuman Rights
