Guest Comments by the Burma Partnership
Early in her historic three-day visit to Burma recently, United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton said, “I came to assess if the time is right for a new chapter in our shared history.”
The US hopes to use a policy of deeper engagement to bring about more reforms and ensure that “flickers of change” in Burma will become impressive “flames of freedom that light the path to a better future”.
This strategy appears acceptable to Burma's democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who told Clinton, “If we go forward together, I'm confident there will be no turning back from the road to democracy. We are not on that road yet, but we hope to get there as soon as possible with our friends.”
When leaving, Clinton urged the regime to do more. Better relations with the US will be possible only if Burma's government continues along the path of reform, she said. That path “would require releasing all political prisoners, halting hostilities in ethnic areas and seeking a true political settlement, broadening the space for political and civic activity and fully implementing legislation protecting universal freedoms of assembly, speech and association”.
On a key issue, Clinton added: “We're not at the point yet that we can consider lifting sanctions that we have in place because of our ongoing concerns about policies that have to be reversed.”
But she did backtrack on supporting a possible UN-led commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity: “We hope there will be an internal-mechanism accountability. For example, the establishment of a human-rights commission is an important first step, and the government has taken that first step.”
Yet impunity remains rampant. Creating a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was an empty gesture to seduce the international community. Lack of independence will compromise its performance. Many NHRC members are retired ambassadors and regime officials who long denied Burma's abysmal human-rights record. There's little hope they will independently investigate human-rights abuses.
During Clinton's visit, several interesting details emerged about the regime's inner workings. Officials showed a strong desire for Suu Kyi to run for parliament in byelections and to use her participation to legitimize the government.
Some Burma-watchers mention regime divisions between “soft-liners” and “hard-liners”. The US sees three factions: a group supporting reform, one opposing it and many “fence-sitters”.
As American leaders cautiously start a new chapter in dealing with Burma, they must maintain a strong position. They can encourage progress towards democracy, national reconciliation and an end to human-rights violations only by firmly withholding what the regime desperately wants: the lifting of sanctions. Sanctions are a crucial bargaining chip that must be played well.
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Hillary Clinton: mission of assessment.
Aung San Suu Kyi hopes 'to get there'.
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