Myanmar reformers need U.S. help
On Feb. 1, a military coup in Myanmar (also known as Burma) seized control of the government in blatant disregard of a free and fair election that voted overwhelmingly in favor of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s nascent democratic government.
It is time for the United States to reassert itself as a global leader in championing the values of human rights, civil rights and democracy. The days for coddling dictators have passed.
Americans should care about what is taking place in Myanmar because we have played an important role in cultivating the democratic aspirations of the Myanmar people. In Yangon, the American Center — an outreach arm of the U.S. Embassy — hosts public programs that teach about democracy.
In Mandalay, similar events have been offered at the Jefferson Center to inspire reformers. In Naypyidaw, the capital, visiting scholars, such as myself, have worked with pro-democracy organizations to teach members of parliament about the rule of law, free trade and open courts.
Myanmar needs special assistance. Roughly 50 years of military rule —from 1962 to 2011 — not only destroyed the country economically, but educationally. For many years, schools and universities remained closed. That educational deficit — coupled with a lack of job opportunities and international isolation — led to a gap in human capital. Much of the talent that a democracy needs is missing.
According to the Carter Center’s office in Yangon, “democracy in Myanmar continues to be undermined by serious deficiencies in the legal framework, including the reserved seats (in parliament) for military appointees.” Even before the recent coup, 25 percent of the seats in parliament were filled by the military, who acted and voted as a block.
The brave, young pro-democracy reformers in Myanmar who are now protesting the coup are at a distinct disadvantage. They lack the guidance and example of an elder generation that developed in a world of honest and effective government institutions, robust debate about public issues and selfdetermination.
The students and young faculty members who I taught three years ago as a Fulbright scholar in Myanmar are now on the front lines of the protest movement opposing the recent coup. They know that they prefer democracy to dictatorship and international cooperation to isolation. But they cannot be expected to successfully battle with a well-armed military absent the support of foreign friends.
President Joe Biden is right in calling the coup “a direct assault on Burma’s transition to democracy and the rule of law.” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s statement that her department “stands with the people of Burma ... to help them in their effort to secure freedom and democracy” is reassuring.
The Biden administration has made strides in imposing economic sanctions on key military leaders and related corporate subsidiaries. It also wisely redirected more than $40 million of assistance to works that will support civil society institutions.
America remains morally obligated to use diplomacy and international financial tools to cripple Myanmar’s illegitimate military regime and assist that country in returning to the path of prosperity and democratic development.