Bush unilaterally puts pressure on Myanmar junta

 

Photo from White House

Since the UN has been typically lethargic in regards to taking action against the repressive government in Burma, President Bush has taken steps to tighten the screws according to Sean Langrell of the Washington Times;

“The world has also been horrified by the response of Burma’s military junta,” Mr. Bush said. “Monks have been beaten and killed; thousands of pro-democracy protesters have been arrested.”

Mr. Bush ordered the Treasury Department to freeze the financial assets of members of the repressive military junta. He also acted to tighten controls on U.S. exports to Burma, also known as Myanmar.
[…]the Treasury Department last month designated 14 top leaders of the Burmese regime for sanctions, including Senior Gen. Than She and his deputy, Vice Senior Gen. Maung Aye. The State Department also imposed an expanded visa ban on those responsible for the most egregious violations of human rights, as well as their family members.

Mr. Bush said yesterday the Treasury Department had designated 11 more leaders of the junta for sanctions, and issued a new executive order that designates an additional 12 individuals and entities for sanctions.

From the transcript of President Bush’s address on the White House website;

Burmese authorities claim they desire reconciliation. Well, they need to match those words with actions. A good way to start would be to provide the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations access to political prisoners; to allow Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained leaders to communicate with one another; and to permit U.N. Special Envoy Gambari to enter their country immediately. And ultimately, reconciliation requires that Burmese authorities release all political prisoners — and begin negotiations with the democratic opposition under the auspices of the United Nations. 

The Executive Order is especially broad in it’s scope;

Section 1.* * *all property and interests in property of the following persons that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, including their overseas branches, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in:

(b)  any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of State:

[…]

(iv)  to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, the Government of Burma, the State Peace and Development Council of Burma, the Union Solidarity and Development Association of Burma, any successor entity to any of the foregoing, any senior official of any of the foregoing, or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to Executive Order 13310 or section 1(b)(i)-(v) of this order;   

It appears that anyone doing business with the Myanmar government will be subject to this as well – including Chinese, Indians and Russians caught doing business with the junta, as well as Americans doing business with the generals.

In reaction, the Myanmar government has lifted it’s curfew and assembly ban, according to the Associated Press;

Myanmar announced Saturday that it was lifting a curfew and ending a ban on assembly imposed after a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, the latest sign that the government believes it has extinguished the largest demonstrations in decades.
 
The announcement, made by government vehicles passing through neighborhoods, lifts the curfew that had been imposed at one point from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. and ends the ban on gatherings of more than five people in Yangon.

The ruling junta on Saturday also issued an unusual plea in state media for the country’s detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to compromise and hold talks with the government.

The apparent softening of the government’s position comes after President Bush’s announcement Friday that new sanctions would be imposed to punish the military-run government and its backers for the deadly crackdown.

The situation appears to be worse than has been reported, according to Christian Today;

Between Jan. 12 and July 31, Burma’s leaders arbitrarily seized property and assets, and forced people to relocate across the country, especially from areas where ethnic Karen rebels dwell in the rugged mountains along Burma’s eastern border with Thailand, the report said.

It estimated 540,000 people have been displaced in eastern Burma with “minimal” prospects of being returned and resettled. As of July 9, there were 139,075 refugees from Burma living in Thailand, it said.

“Military operations in rural areas have contributed to the impoverishment of villagers,” he said in the report.

Pinheiro, a Geneva-based Brazilian law professor who reports to the U.N. Human Rights Council, has visited Burma six times since he was asked to keep an eye on its human rights performance in 2000.

Pinheiro has not been allowed back since November 2003 despite repeated requests. He based his 2007 report on “information collected from a variety of independent and reliable sources.”

So the UN Commission is just neutered when it comes to protecting the Burmese people because the goverment won’t cooperate. Another instance of why the US acts unilaterally in the world. It’s an uphill struggle against the evil forces in the world, according to ABC News;

But the impact of the sanctions has been weakened by the eagerness of China, India and Thailand to tap Burma’s rich natural wealth to fuel their own growing economies.

But we still expect the UN to do things about more complicated problems in Darfur and Iran.

Have Coffee Will Write has a link roundup from sources outside the US.  The Tricycle Blog was reporting more arrests yesterday. Kate at A Columbo-Americana’s Perspective has links to the Wednesday testimony to Congress on Burma. Spanish Pundit reports widespread hunger in Burma. Lim Kit Siang advocates for Burma’s removal from ASEAN;

It is not enough for any ASEAN nation to say that ASEAN backs the United Nation efforts and urges Myanmar to co-operate with Gambari and the United Nations to find a political solution.

There is not much optimism that Gambari will succeed in achieving a breakthrough with the Myanmar military junta, as evidenced by the continuing campaign of arrests and terror in Myanmar while Gambari continued to call for talks, unless all important players – especially China, India, ASEAN and the UN – do more.

Maybe US pressure on ASEAN will bump the junta into doing more than just lifting civil rights violations against the people. The UN ain’t helping.

Category: Foreign Policy