Cameron made right
move in Myanmar
Published: 15/04/2012
British Prime Minister
David Cameron's visit to Myanmar on
Friday has repeatedly been described as a ''landmark'' event because he is the
first leader of a Western state to make the trip in many years, and
not surprisingly he made good use of the momentous occasion to make a major
announcement. Along with
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Mr Cameron called for the suspension of economic sanctions which have
been imposed by the European Union countries and the United States, Canada,
Australia as well as a few other countries. The move is no surprise and comes
sharply on the heels of the April 1 by-election which gave parliamentary seats
to Mrs Suu Kyi and 42 other members of her National League for Democracy in a
landslide win for the party.
Mr Cameron correctly
served notice to the military-backed government that such international
concessions are contingent upon real democratic progress, both by
making the announcement jointly with Mrs Suu Kyi, and by calling for a
suspension rather than an outright lifting of the sanctions.
''I think there are
prospects for change in Burma [Myanmar] and I think it is right for the rest of
the world to respond to those changes.
''Of course we must
respond with caution, with care. We must always be sceptical and questioning
because we want to know those changes are irreversible,'' said Mr Cameron, who
also held talks with President Thein Sein.
Mr Cameron's views
will carry much weight with the 27-nation EU, which has already lifted some
restrictions. EU foreign ministers will decide on their next steps when
they meet on April 23, and it is likely that Mr Cameron's move was given
unofficial backing by the international body before he left London.
It is also more than
likely that Washington is on board with the suspension of sanctions.
All things considered,
as long as Myanmar continues to make significant strides toward democratisation
the suspension and ultimate lifting of sanctions is an inevitable and desirable
consequence which should serve to speed along the reforms. At any rate, whether
or not the West does business in Myanmar, many countries in this part of the
world have long been doing so and will continue to, with Thailand at the
forefront.
As has often been
pointed out in this space and elsewhere, the desire to exploit Myanmar's
natural resources is a powerful force for the opening up of the country.
Whether the companies doing business in the future in Myanmar are British,
Canadian, Chinese, American or Thai, it will be crucial for the
Myanmar people to properly safeguard their own interests and their
environment.
This will depend to a large extent on how representative
the government truly is and on how much local participation is allowed
in major development schemes before they are ever begun. The foreign
governments and companies involved should be willing to encourage local
participation, both because it is the right thing to do and also because it may
help to head off problems down the road.
In Thailand we know
all too well how major development projects that are pushed through with a lack
of transparency can come back to haunt developers.
It seems very unlikely
that there was much participation of locals in the planning of the Dawei deep
sea port and adjacent industrial zone being developed by Ital-Thai and pushed
by successive Thai governments, both ''yellow'' and ''red''. What we do know is
that thousands of locals are being relocated for the project.
The deep sea
port/industrial park will almost surely go ahead, and it may well be a great
boon to the Myanmar economy and people, as the project's supporters predict.
But as it is still in the early construction stages it is not too late to make
changes necessary to protect the locals and, as much as possible, the pristine
Andaman Sea environment.
As Thais we should ask
ourselves how we would feel if a foreign developer were bringing a huge
industrial operation to Krabi or Khao Lak. We should also consider that Dawei
is not so very far from Thai waters, and pollution has no respect for national
boundaries.
