Democracy doomed in Myanmar
What happened in Myanmar with the sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi along with former President Win Myint is in keeping with the behaviour of the country’s military rulers who wish to rule and not let the early shoots of democracy that were seen when a civilian became the de jure ruler for one term. It was made apparent when Suu Kyi was ousted in a February 1 coup this year and a number of cases foisted against her on charges which could have led to her being jailed for 100 years.
It is small solace that in the verdicts handed down this week on two charges against Suu Kyi, including the ridiculous one of not following Covid protocols, she was given four years, a term that was to be halved by the courts that operate under the thumb of the army brass. Her incarceration would mean the 76-year-old will be exiled from electoral politics.
Suu Kyi’s fight against military rule has been a saga of courage in which she was under house arrest for 15 years and emerged from it to become an icon of the free world only to suffer the harsh realities of a country that has for decades been far opposed to the conventions of people electing their rulers. Her image was sullied by her seeming to condone the abuses committed against the Rohingya minority. Greater harm has, however, happened to the entire Myanmarese people as about 1,300 of them have disappeared during the quelling of protests against the military coup.
The free world may fulminate at the latest developments but is helpless to do much about the junta riding roughshod over its people. By far the cutest thing said was China’s statement that the larger cause was not to be disturbed while India expressed sentiments about the need for the rule of law and the democratic process to be upheld. What little influence India has in the neighbourhood is, perhaps, further compromised by the need to balance its dealings with Myanmar’s ‘Tatmadaw’ (military) and retain a measure of control over events in restive portions of a 1,600 km border with the eastern neighbour from whose territory militants often used to strike against India.
By far the cutest thing said was China’s statement that the larger cause was not to be disturbed while India expressed sentiments about the need for the rule of law to be upheld.