Burma’s plight — it’s time the west tried a little jaw-jaw with the junta

WHEN Aung San Suu Kyi was finally released from years of house arrest last week, memories flooded back of Nelson Mandela’s own release from Victor Verster prison and his triumphant walk to freedom. Dare we hope that Burma too might soon join the civilised nations of the world? The chances, unfortunately, are slim.

Nelson Mandela was 70 when he initiated talks about talks with the apartheid regime and prevailed upon the African National Congress to climb down from its rigid positions.

Aung San Suu Kyi, now 65, faces a similar — though more difficult – choice. Does she carry on with her generation-long struggle, knowing her adversaries in the military government hold all the most important cards in their hands, or does she try to follow the path of resilience and compromise without abandoning her convictions?