Prospect of Democracy in Burma Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Prospect of Democracy in BurmaThe prospect for the development of a democratic state in Burma has recently become a remote possibility. Burmas armed forces leaders have been holding talks with the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). The dialogue started eyepatch Aung San Suu Kyi was still under class arrest. When she was released in 2002, the world(prenominal) community and the people of Burma expected the process to evolve to the next stage substantive political negotiations. However, the whole process has stalled. Burmas military remain in control.In justifying the hiatus, the Burmese military leaders engage in various forms of platitudinous rhetoric, carefully designed to obfuscate their totalitarian intent. The authorship of this rhetoric is that the country is undergoing a transition toward a multi-party democracy. Burmas influential intelligence chief, world(a) Khin Nyunt, has warned that such a transition canno t be done in haste or in a haphazard manner. The world is full of examples where hasty transition from one system to another led to unrest, instability and purge failed states . However, this linguistic charade is not consistently maintained. Burmas generals have made disturbing pronouncements that overtly envision a highly compromised, paternalistic democracy. They assert that either democracy in Burma must incorporate Asian values, and is therefore incompatible with Western models of democracy. The generals have proved recalcitrant in the face of international pressure, and persist with their particularly Burmese variant of democracy. Nyunt recently said that The democracy we seek to build may not be identical to the West but it will surely be based on universal principles of liberty, justice and equality. It is more than likely that Burmas military rulers are now looking at the Chinese political model as the basis of their new constitution. This rhetoric, centered around vari ous abstractions and elaborations of political vision, is calculated to distract from the decidedly non-democratic Burmese political reality. What has actually been happening is that the countrys top military leader Senior General Than Shwe has strengthened his control over both the troops and the administrative structure. Ever since the arrest of four members of the former military dictator General Ne Wins famil... ...ase against the government - without provoking violence - while at the same time cooperating with the generals in a dialogue which recognizes the limitations of its current political potency. BibliographyEvans, George, Human rights in Burma, Contemporary Review, Oct, 1994, v265, n1545, p178Jagan, Larry, Burmas opposition slowly rises from asheshttp//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1885565.stm BBC News. 2002Jagan, Larry, Junta has little to celebrate http//www.rebound88.net/sp/junta/s14junta-thanshwe.htmlBangkok Post, 2002.Jagan, Larry, Deadlock in Burma http//www .himalmag.com/2002/october/burma.htm 2002.Lintner, Bertil, Divide and rule peace treaties marginalise democracy groups. Far Eastern economical Review, Jan 27, 1994, v157, n4, p20 Linter, Bertil, New camouflage army maintains tight controls despite election pledge, Far Eastern Economic Review, May 11, 1989, v144, n19, p32Maidment, Richard. Goldblatt, David. Mitchell, Jeremy. Governance in the Asia Pacific. Routlage, London, 1998.Seth, Mydans, Burmese General Says Transition to Democracy Will Be Slow. http//www.burmaforumla.org/burmese_general_says_transition_.htm New York Times, 2002.