Guest Comments by the National League for Democracy
Editor's Note: The National League for Democracy (NLD), a party led by democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi in military-dominated Burma, recently revised its stance on tourism. Potential visitors should think hard before going there.
RANGOON, Burma -- Since 1996, the National League for Democracy (NLD) has maintained a position against tourism to highlight serious human-rights abuses, the monopoly of the military regime and its cronies, and cultural, social and environmental damage linked to the industry in Burma. These problems persist.
Burma, one of Southeast Asia's biggest countries (2,000 km long), has many attractions. Historical monuments stand in the ancient cities of Sri Kestra, Pagan, Mrauk-U, Mandalay and Pegu. Much of the landscape reveals pagodas. The northern Kachin State has the region's loftiest peak, 19,400-foot Mount Khakaborazi, always capped by a glacier that feeds into the Irrawaddy River. This celebrated waterway winds through the country's heart before emptying into the sea. Other rivers have biodiversity and beauty too, as do the wildlife reserves. The coast offers unspoiled white-sand beaches. Much of the north is rimmed by the Chin Hills, the eastern tail of the Himalayas and the Shan plateau. These uncommonly beautiful regions, home to ethnic people, remain off the beaten tourist trails.
Despite so many attractions, Burma has fewer than 300,000 visitors per year, much less than Thailand (14 million), Vietnam (4 million), Cambodia and Laos (2 million each). Japan still lures 300,000 tourists per month, despite its triple-disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear leakage. Obviously, Burma's tourist industry lags far behind.
Successful tourism development hinges not just on service providers like travel agents, tour operators, guides, hotels, guesthouses and transport companies, but also on co-operation from the tourists. It's essential to strike the right balance between commercial and societal considerations.
In a developing country like Burma, that balance is difficult. While tourism can create jobs, earn hard currency and raise living standards, it may have negative results too if environmental issues are ignored and meetings of different cultures and social values lack sufficient sensitivity.
Whole Burmese communities have been harmed for tourism. Local people have been displaced, often without compensation or satisfactory relocation, to make way for hotels and other facilities. To be uprooted from ancestral villages often means losing livelihoods too. To worsen matters, forced labor is used on some construction. The net result is economic hardship, abrupt breakdown of traditional ways and gross human-rights violations.
Too many uncaring tourists can undermine communities’ social, cultural and moral structures. Dangers lie not just in conscious misconduct by visitors, but also in well-meaning deeds. While sex tourists present an obvious evil, thoughtless acts, like the indiscriminate distribution of money or gifts that make habitual beggars of children, receive insufficient attention. Genuine development means not just promoting standards of living, but also self-respect and self-reliance in the people.
Environmental destruction for infrastructure to attract tourists is of paramount concern. Clearing forests for hotels, restaurants, access roads and golf courses should be prohibited. Disposal of garbage and sewage needs strict regulations.
The survival of Inlay Lake, famous for its beauty and the unique way of life of its water-dwellers, is seriously challenged. Deforestation has caused soil erosions, landslides, sedimentation and climate change. In the past 30 years, the lake has shrunk by half. Uncontrolled use of fertilizers and pesticides for floating gardens, undisciplined waste-chemical discharges from weavers and smiths, and the disposal of untreated sewage and waste water from hotels and restaurants polluted the lake so badly that rare fish face extinction. Peoples who lived off the lake for centuries must find drinking water from distant sources.
The NLD boycotted “Visit Myanmar Year” (1996) due to human-rights violations, the monopoly by the military regime and its cronies on lucrative parts of tourism, and cultural, social and environmental damage. Burma's human-rights record has not improved. In many parts of the country, forced labor remains. Such abuses will stop only through political measures, not, as some hope, by an influx of foreign visitors.
Many tourism-related businesses remain owned by government families or their cronies. Claims that much of the industry is in private, not government, hands overlook the crony factor.
Global awareness of ecological issues leads to greater caution about the environment. But the damage to historical monuments by fast, superficial renovations that ignored the need to preserve authenticity and uphold aesthetic values remains as a sad reminder of an irresponsible drive to attract tourists.
Economic difficulties facing Burma's people call for a review of the NLD's tourism policy. The challenge is to reap benefits and boost the economy while minimizing negative results. Travel agencies and human-rights organizations should give information to prospective tourists about the travel agencies, hotels and other facilities free from government affiliations, social exploitation and human-rights violations.
Tourism-related enterprises include making traditional arts and crafts. Promoting quality goods, encouraging time-honored techniques and designs, and stimulating innovation would help. Some shoddy souvenirs may be inevitable, but discriminating buyers will support superior products.
The NLD welcomes visitors keen to promote the common people's welfare and environmental conservation while gaining insight into Burma's cultural, political and social life.
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