Burmese crossroad?
This article was published more than ten years ago. The information it contains may be incomplete or out of date.
Burma is doing both better and worse than is often discussed – a lack of information that makes it difficult to ascertain how the progressive and human-rights concerned international community should now be dealing with the country.
A number of recent events in Burma have created a guarded optimism that the country is starting to witness at least a marginal opening or political softening. Examples include the release from house arrest of the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, elections and the convening of a national Parliament and regional and state-level legislatures, the appointment of a new, notionally civilian, president, and the disclosure of the annual fiscal budget – which previously was a secret document. These have in turn reopened debates on the role of internationally imposed sanctions as a means of supporting democratisation and human rights. But to what extent a shift away from decades of political and social repression could actually be taking place is difficult to judge, since data are inconsistent and information sparse and often biased.