Optimistic analysts hope the appalling suffering in Burma will inevitably lead to the collapse of the junta and its replacement by a government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. It’s a forlorn hope: the Burmese army is willing to kill civilians in large numbers. So long as the army stays united, nothing will change

IN 1988, the army brutally suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations in Burma and a junta of 19 military officers established the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). It has ruled by decree since.