Talks with Burma

Washington's new policy towards Burma will include more direct and deeper engagement with the junta. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly in New York this week.

However, she insisted that sanctions against the regime would remain an important part of US policy. "Engagement versus sanctions is a false choice in our opinion. Going forward, we will be employing both of those tools, pursuing our same goal. To help achieve democratic reform we will be engaging directly with Burmese authorities."

Clinton also said that the change in policy did not mean there would be any compromise on the demands for credible democratic reform and the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

There have been mixed reactions to Clinton's announcement. Some activists doubt whether it will really help to bring about change in the country, which has been in the tight grip of the junta for decades.

Sonny Aung Than Oo from the Germany-based NGO Burma Bureau is skeptical: "Until now the regime has not cared about any of the UN's demands or those of the international community. They don't care. They keep going their own way. They have killed monks in the past and many people are political prisoners."

But other observers think the new policy might have some positive effects in view of the fact that economic sanctions and aid restrictions imposed by Western governments in the past have failed to persuade the junta to introduce democratic reforms.

Failed sanctions

Robert Templer of the International Crisis Group in New York explains that the sanction regime didn't really work: "The sanctions were never universally applied. China didn't apply them, India didn't apply them. None of the neighboring states have any sanctions on Myanmar (the official name given to Burma by its military rulers). So, Myanmar's economy has been hurt to some degree but it has been hurt by its own policies more than by the Western sanctions."

There was first talk about a possible shift in policy towards Burma after US Senator Jim Webb, an ardent advocate for easing the sanctions, travelled there last month.

He secured the release of John Yettaw, an American who had been jailed for swimming to Suu Kyi's house. Webb met the detained pro-democracy leader during his trip, as well as top generals.

For the International Crisis Group's Templer, Washington's latest change in course is a sign of pragmatism: "For the past nearly 20 years, they have not had high-level contacts with the regime and that lack of contact has really created a diplomatic vacuum, which is very much filled by China," he says.

"So, even if the US doesn't like the government there and doesn't regard it as democratic, it does feel the need to discuss a variety of issues with it and to try to find some common ground and some avenues for progress as it has been a very static situation for a long time."

Less paranoia

Templer added that although it might be a slow process, any contact that the junta had with the outside world was likely to persuade it to introduce reforms eventually.

"It will make them more confident and less paranoid," he said. "It will make them more aware of the possibilities of re-engaging with the international community. Engagement tends to have a better record in promoting transformation than isolation."

Aung San Suu Kyi, for her part, has welcomed the US's announcement of a policy shift. According to her lawyer Nyan Win, she said Washington's direct engagement with Burma would be welcome as long as there were talks with the government, but also the opposition.

Author: Disha Uppal
Editor: Michael Knigge