Burma threatens to undermine EU credibility on human rights

GROUPS all over the world, including in Dublin, took advantage of the 65th birthday of Aung San Su Kyi to pressurise jailers in her native Burma to release her, and hold genuinely democratic elections later this year.

But even as Christy Moore’s songs of defiance and freedom rang out through the National Concert Hall, it begged the question about the limitations of civil protest.

The writer Damian Gorman read part of his poem addressed to the Troubles in the North, but applicable to Burma, warning of the dangers of complacency and detachment.

The British prime minister, the US president, leaders from the free world issued statements demanding the release of the woman who has been under house arrest for 15 of the past 21 years since she won the last general election held in Burma.

But none of the pleas and none of the bans on imports or embargoes on trade and investment appear to have affected the military dictatorship.

Rated the most corrupt country in the world using child soldiers, sex slaves for its army, forced labour and a major exporter of heroin, it survives because it has supporters.

These include Russia and its neighbours China and India who have forced UN condemnations to be watered down. They pursue their trade interests as Russia helps with their nuclear reactor, China supplies arms and there are claims that North Korea is helping to develop nuclear weapons.

A gasfield, due to come on stream in two year’s time, doubtless will make the country even more attractive.

In the meantime, the ruling military dictators spend less than any other country in the world on the health of its 56 million citizens, maintain the 12th largest active army in the world, and has built a new capital city with eight lane highways and flyovers – and no traffic.

Burma is part of ASEAN, the association of 10 South East Asian nations, and it is becoming an increasingly important body.

There were disputes in the past between the two organisations over Burma, and at their joint meeting last year ASEAN members were not interested in discussing the show trial of Aung San Su Khi after an American swam across a lake to her prison-home and stayed two days before swimming back again. ASEAN members argue they don’t want the Burmese generals moving away from ASEAN to side instead with China, for instance, and so further increasing its influence in the region.

However, the EU is in danger of losing credibility, not just on Burma, but on support for human rights following its joint statement with ASEAN calling for the elections in October to be free and fair. It ignored the fact that most politicians, like Su Khi are either in jail or have been banned from taking part.

Perhaps stating the facts is better than detachment masquerading as diplomacy, especially when some ASEAN members, despite signing up to the UN charter of human rights, believe such rights are a private matter and countries shouldn’t meddle.