In August 2007, the Burmese military junta imposed dramatic price increases on fuel, devastating the Burmese working population and sparking public demonstrations to protest the deterioration of the country’s economy. In a matter of weeks, the demonstrations evolved to oppose the brutal actions of the military junta and to call for political freedom. Thousands of political activists and citizens gathered in Rangoon and several other cities and townships across Burma to participate in historic marches led by hundreds of Buddhist monks – the largest public protests the country had seen in nearly two decades. In an attempt to quell these demonstrations, security forces wounded and killed protestors, and several hundred activists were arrested. The international community – including the United States, the European Union and members of ASEAN – have condemned the actions of the junta and called for a peaceful, non-violent solution to the crisis and the restoration of democracy in Burma.
Burma has been under military rule for more than 40 years, and political opposition has effectively been crippled under this regime. In 1990, the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung Sang Suu Kyi, won democratic elections by more than 80 percent of the popular vote. The junta however refused to honor the results and subsequently placed Suu Kyi under house arrest as well as imprisoned other NLD members. Activists who were not detained were at constant risk of being tortured or executed. To date, Suu Kyi has spent nearly 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest, and the junta has repeatedly ignored pleas from the international community to release her and other political dissidents. In addition, several protracted armed battles continue between the ruling junta, called the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and ethnic minority factions. Many of these conflicts are fought along the country's borders and threaten to spill over into neighboring countries. These encounters have caused the loss of thousands of lives and created an overwhelming number of refugees, forcing Burmese to live in jungles and other harsh terrain on the run from the military.
With the lack of political space inside the country, Burmese pro-democracy activists call upon supporters around the world to advocate for the restoration of democracy in their country. In July 2005, efforts by the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members resulted in Burma foregoing its scheduled 2006 chairmanship of ASEAN due to the SPDC's lack of progress toward implementing democratic reforms. Since that time, a group of concerned ASEAN parliamentarians, the Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Democracy in Myanmar (AIPMC), have maintained pressure on the Burmese junta. Several AIPMC members have written opinion articles in regional newspapers and held press conferences to call for reform in Burma and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. The Malaysian foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, visited Burma in March 2006 as an official ASEAN envoy to assess the progress of democratic reforms in the country. After only a couple of days in the country, the minister cut his trip short when it became clear that the junta retreated from its promise to allow access to Burma's opposition voices, particularly Aung San Suu Kyi.
Along with criticism from its regional neighbors, Burma found itself at the forefront of international news in September 2005 when retired South African archbishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu and former Czech president Vaclav Havel commissioned a report calling on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to take action on Burma. The report concluded that the current situation in Burma is far worse than in other countries in which the UNSC had previously intervened. Tutu and Havel urged the UNSC to pass a resolution to compel the SPDC to work with the UN Secretary General's office on a plan for national reconciliation by 2006. With the release of this report, the UNSC held informal discussions on Burma leading to an eventual 10-4 vote that placed Burma on the official Security Council agenda. The move allowed the United States to sponsor a Security Council resolution on Burma calling for the release of political prisoners and an end to attacks against civilians in ethnic minority regions of the country. In January 2007, nine of the 15 Security Council members supported the resolution while both China and Russia opted to exercise their veto power to block its passage. This marks the first time China and Russia have employed a joint veto since 1972.
NDI and Burma
NDI has been involved with Burma since November 1995 when a small team traveled to Rangoon to assess political and social conditions in the country. In 1998, NDI began working with the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), the Burmese exile government, to assist the group and strengthen its outreach capacity. As a result of this assistance, the NCGUB and the Burma Fund, a Washington-based Burma support organization, developed a comprehensive communications program. NDI also worked to develop increased coordination among the NCGUB, other exile groups, key international support organizations, and international political leaders. NDI assisted the NCGUB in its successful effort to secure passage of a resolution of support and solidarity for Aung San Suu Kyi by women members of parliament participating in the Inter-Parliamentary Union conference in Jakarta, Indonesia in August 2000.
In 2001, NDI worked with Promoting Democracy in Burma (PD Burma), the Nobel Institute in Oslo, the leadership of the Nobel Peace Laureate Campaign for Aung San Suu Kyi and the People of Burma, and an international network of political leaders in organizing a coordinated international celebration of the tenth anniversary of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Suu Kyi. NDI assisted with an event for the Norwegian parliament in Oslo featuring 21 Nobel Peace Laureates who were linked, via satellite and the Internet, to celebrations throughout the world. NDI worked with partners in Europe and Southeast Asia to develop goals and objectives for an International Burma Summit that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2002. From this meeting, the "Copenhagen Declaration" was issued on behalf and in support of seven ethnic minority groups and the NCGUB.
NDI has also worked with the Euro-Burma Network to conduct public campaigns to strengthen the EU’s common position on change in Burma. This coalition of more than fifteen organizations was formed in 2003, and NDI has facilitated the development and implementation of strategic goals for the EBN since its inception. This network has been a visible presence in key EU countries and has successfully promoted a stronger EU position to bring greater political, diplomatic and economic pressure on the military regime of Burma. The Institute also works with Burmese exile groups to develop their strategic planning capacities and facilitate contact with regional and international leaders.
Currently, NDI is developing a program to support members of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus in their efforts to push for democratic change in Burma. In the coming months, NDI will work with the AIPMC initiatives to strengthen the Cambodia Parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar and support efforts to expand the AIPMC’s reach into more ASEAN countries.
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