World is watching Myanmar junta

World is watching Myanmar junta

The Straits Times, Asia News Network, Singapore

When Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was given her freedom on May 6, the military government said she could go anywhere she wanted. A new phase of their ongoing dialogue was also to begin, but no timetable was set. Mutual confidence had been established, said Gen. Kyaw Win, a ranking member of the intelligence directorate.

While a measure of understanding had indeed been reached between the protagonists in the mediation conducted by Razali Ismail, the United Nations special envoy, the junta's undertakings given after her release from house arrest still held a high threshold of proof. Six weeks after the event, the evidence has neither been dismaying nor overwhelmingly positive.

This need not necessarily be a setback, as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) could not dismantle overnight the scaffolding of controls that had all political opposition hobbled since the 1990 election. But the process of Myanmar's liberalization has been implicitly agreed upon with her release.

It cannot be turned back, save at a horrific economic and diplomatic cost to the isolated nation. Therefore, a prolonged delay by the ruling generals to talk reform and governance with the victor of the election would be a breach of faith, a terrible injustice to the Myanmar people. Suu Kyi must never permit herself to be paraded around as a trophy by the generals.

There are two facets to her rehabilitation. Freedom to engage in political work and to meet people, foreign diplomats and politicians included, should be unfettered. The other element, the critical one, is a reform agenda which will have a place for Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the 1990 polls decisively.

This move can be initiated only by the ruling troika headed by Senior General Than Shwe, but she can accelerate it with energetic prodding. The SPDC cannot ignore her now. In a telephone interview with this newspaper, she said there had been no dialog with the generals yet since May 6.

"We have been ready for it for years, but the regime has to be ready for it. I am concerned about this, but we have hopes they are moving in that direction." This is what the world wants to see happen. She left the impression she was not completely satisfied with the scope of emancipation permitted so far.

For illustration, an application to restore a newspaper publishing license made a few weeks ago has not had a response from the authorities. This is an early test of how far and fast the SPDC will permit normalcy in party politics. A rival party, the National Unity Party, has a publishing license, but giving the NLD a means of reaching out to the whole country is obviously not a prospect the SPDC relishes.

The generals can show they mean to take the country forward, or they can give up all semblance of pretense. The world is watching: A false step cannot be helpful. As for her movements, she has not tested the assumption of unconditional freedom as she has been busy attending to party work and inspecting relief programs in the capital Yangon and its environs. She expects to travel to Mandalay, considered forbidden territory in the past, in the next few weeks.

The junta's reaction to this will be another defining yardstick by which it will be judged. Reports said there had been subtle intimidation of certain people she had met. It may be of little consequence if this is a hangover effect of long dictatorial rule, but nothing should be assumed. Myanmar is still on probation.