The New light of Myanmar
Wednesday, 13 August, 2003

What will be the outcome of the lopsided US sanctions on Myanmar?

Recently, the US government introduced a law imposing lopsided sanctions on Myanmar, giving the excuse of flourishing of democracy in the nation. Can the method of sanctions be an instant panacea for flourishing of democracy? Its effects should be assessed. Such an act is like closing the door Myanmar has opened to transform itself from the socialist system to democracy through the market-oriented economic system. The act to stem the inflow of investments and soft loans to the market-oriented economy of Myanmar also pushes her to the level of production on the same scale as it was so during the time under the rule of the past Burma Socialist Programme Party, and even downgrades her to the survival stage. Moreover, the action is like destroying the emerging entrepreneurs, the working class, the middle class and the academics who are the good foundations of democracy, and further degrading the level of the nation to fall to relying on the natural economy. All in all, all these acts are like pushing Myanmar, which is transforming itself to set up a multi-party system based on the market-oriented economy, back to the close-door socialist system of the past.

The public movement resulting from economic downturn, technological backwardness, degradation of the life of the people with advanced and broad vision, the entrepreneurs and the workers will not bring about proper changes and correct revolution; instead, it will cause anarchy, acts of destruction and disunity under different leadership. In that situation, the Tatmadaw will have to take over the State duties; and the nation will be unable to free itself from that whirlpool. The only means to set the nation free from the whirlpool is the gradual development and advancement of the food, clothing and shelter conditions and economic productive forces, that will lead to flourishing of democracy, human rights and culture. This is the method the Asian countries have applied. The growth of the Japanese economy as many as 14 times within a 17-year period was the indication of its democracy development. In the history of mankind, man first strove to fulfil his food, clothing and shelter needs; and only after having enough food, clothing and shelter, he would be able to pay attention to other sectors including religion, politics, administration, literature and culture. Thus, the development of the history of mankind is also the development of the food, clothing and shelter conditions and commodity production.

In the heart of human beings lies the will to achieve progress in economy and commodity production. Progress in economy and commodity production will lead to development of all other areas. We have witnessed in some East European nations the bloodbaths and adverse effects resulting from the opening of the political freedoms first, before cementing the economic foundation while they were only in transition to democracy. They are still confronted with disintegration and various kinds of economic and political hardships. Most of those countries are the testing grounds of American democracy. It is a serious lesson for all.

David Heap, who served as a representative of Ford Foundation in Africa wrote an article in The International Herald Tribune in 1994. The title of the article said that democracy could not be a remedy in a region where it had not flourished yet. The rough translation of the extract from the article is as follows:

"The emergence of a democratic government is a very difficult task. President Kennedy in 1963 warned that qualities such as observance of discipline, the ability to exercise restraint, the will to sacrifice for general interest and wide knowledge needed to be high. But sadly, the successive US presidents, the secretaries of State, the congressmen of the legislative body ignored his warning. They believe that all the ills of a developing nation, which lacks democracy, can be cured by introducing the western democracy to that nation. President Clinton and his advisers were the worst in thoughtlessly using the remedy. They were blindly giving the democracy medicine as the remedy for all the problems of the developing countries. They never paid heed to the diversity in cultures and differences in the history particular countries."

Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathia bin Mohammed also wrote in the International Herald Tribune based on the correctness of the above-mentioned opinion. He wrote that act of seeking and studying the experiences and advice from many other countries was needed and useful; that whether it was advice of any learned person or a sincere suggestion, it should be in accord with the objective physical conditions.

Here, I would like to say that the countries including Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia and Singapore and Hong Kong Self-Administered Region that are enjoying economic boom, have one similarity in becoming economic development models. Apart from Hong Kong, the countries have never practised the Laissez-Faire Capitalism.

It is correct for China that she had not immediately transformed her centralized economic system. The country is also correct as she had not made a radical political about-turn. So, China is able to avoid the political and economic turmoil which the old Soviet Union is suffering.

If there occurred disorder and chaos in China, she will not be able to facilitate the free market-oriented economy. There is a strong government in China. It will be somewhat like a dictatorship. But it is better to have a totalitarian government than facing a commotion.

For a country with 1,200 million people, China sees the stability to earn a living of the majority is more important than the individual freedom. But in the later period, individual freedom will become the norms of the Chinese democracy.

Democracy is the highest among the human ideas and thoughts. But it is not without any faults. It has been nurtured for centuries. Even among the western democracies, the interpretation and practice of democracy is different from one another. The East Asia believes in democracy. It has the ardent wish to practise it. At the same time, it also believes that there must be strong governments that will not easily yield to the outside pressures. The east Asian countries that want to catch up with the countries of the West should have the capacity to prepare for their future. The countries seeing often changes in the governments, policies and programmes will not be stable. Especially, there may be changes of attitude towards the investors.

The liberal democratic nations of the West are not able to form stable governments. They began to feel the heat of their weakness in rivaling the Asian economies. Thus, they want to see the Asian economies suffering from instability. And they want to create conditions to serve their purpose. The Asian countries are now able to ward off the attacks of the West, with democracy and human rights as the pretext, to a certain degree.

Thus, the lopsided sanctions imposed by the US government on Myanmar, which is marching on its own way to achieve democracy in accord with living conditions of its people, like its Asian nations, will not have any impact on the country. Imposing of sanctions by US alone during the post-World War period, during which the American economy was very strong, had some kind of impact on the victim. The present time is not like that of the 19th Century during which England was the sole leader; and also unlike the 20th Century when the US alone was leading the global economy. The present world is in the period of tripartite competition. The three big blocs of the present world are - the Latin America group led by the US, the European Union, and the Japan-led newly industrialized nations including Chinese Taipei and the ROK, the ASEAN and China. These three blocs are independently approaching the problems in their own different ways. Thus, although the US has imposed economic sanctions on Cuba for nearly half a century, over 4,000 international companies are running their businesses in the country. The report of the Washington-based International Research Bureau said that like president Clinton, presents Ronald Regan and George Bush issued US economic sanctions on others very often; that mostly the economic sanctions were unsuccessful. The current US president Bush has not been able to take the past lessons; instead he is still applying the economic pressures. Some experts of America said that the two organs of the US parliament should not unanimously approve the latest economic sanctions on Myanmar; that they should first discuss to know whether the sanctions would hurt the people. But the emerging Japan-led newly industrialized nations (including Chinese Taipei and the ROK), the ASEAN and China will not choose the method of imposing lopsided economic sanctions on Myanmar like the US. Instead, they will choose the method of international cooperation and development. Today, Myanmar is a member country of the ASEAN. The one-sided sanctions and actions of the US government will push Myanmar further away from the flourishing of democracy and will have severe adverse effects on the peoples of both nations. Thus, they are the wrong policy of the international relations sector. Moreover, these sanctions will be like a thorn and an obstacle hampering the further blooming of the global market of the 21st Century, and also harmful to the human society.

Author : Aung Moe San