New government needs new policy on Burma

BKK Post, Editorial

Southeast Asia's _ and probably the world's _ most revered female political icon reached out to the region's newest female political icon when Aung San Suu Kyi extended her congratulations last week to Yingluck Shinawatra, who is set to become Thailand's first female prime minister after the Pheu Thai Party's decisive victory in last Sunday's general election. Mrs Suu Kyi, who was in the ancient Burmese city of Pagan, noted that Ms Yingluck is a woman who was chosen to be the leader of a nation in a fair democratic election. The same can be said of Mrs Suu Kyi, although of course she was prevented by the military from taking her role after her National League for Democracy Party won an overwhelming victory in 1990.

Further comparisons between the two are impossible and unfair at this time, but it can only be hoped that Ms Yingluck will emulate Mrs Suu Kyi's longstanding devotion to justice and democracy for her people, which she has maintained at the cost of extreme personal sacrifice.

Mrs Suu Kyi said she hopes for a better bilateral relationship between Burma and Thailand. She also said she hopes the new government will show mercy for the Burmese refugees who have fled their homes to Thailand due to armed conflicts.

Her remarks highlight the important question of what the next government's Burma policy will look like. The basic issue is whether to engage with a country whose government is universally considered to be one of the most repressive on Earth.

On one end of the spectrum is the unlikely possibility that Thailand will endorse the recommendation of United Nations Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana to set up a special UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Burmese military junta.

Such a commission no doubt has merit as a way to get at the truth, but it seems highly unlikely that it will lead to justice any time in the near future. In fact, it might make the alleged criminals seek to further isolate the country and diminish whatever hopes there are for it to open up after the election of last November.

When he was prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra made several trips to Burma, and Shin Corp, the telecom company formerly owned by his family, signed a deal with an internet service provider run by the son of former Burmese prime minister Gen Khin Nyunt. This deal figured in the decision by the Thai Supreme Court to declare Thaksin guilty of abuse of power and seize 46 billion baht of his assets.

Former prime minister Samak Sundaravej famously praised the military regime's good Buddhist practices not long after the brutal crackdown on the ''saffron revolution'' in 2007.

There were high hopes that the Democrats would take a more proactive stance toward Burma when they came to power in December 2008. Instead Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva went along with other Asean leaders' mildly worded criticisms of the lack of freedom in Burma at regional summits, and then pursued business and resources deals on behalf of Thai companies.

It is probably inevitable that Thailand will continue to engage with Burma, but the question is: What can be done differently, to help along a very anaemic democratisation process?

The answer is obvious. Thailand should insist on certain human rights, labour and environmental standards in any project that any Thai company is involved in inside Burma. For instance, the huge Thai-funded project to develop a deepwater port in Dawei, Burma and connect it by road and railway with Kanchanaburi province. Thai companies are also involved in planned industrial estates around the port. If done properly this could be greatly beneficial for both the Thai and Burmese economies, but history has shown that major projects inside Burma tend to take a heavy toll on the environment and the masses while enriching the few. The potential for harm in a project of this scope is enormous. Therefore, if Thai companies are going to fund such projects they have the duty to insist on accountability, backed up by oversight from the Thai government.

The new government should review all existing or proposed projects with Thai participation inside Burma, in particular the proposed 360MW Hatgyi dam on the Salween River inside Karen State, in a region that has seen extensive human rights abuses of ethnic minorities at the hands of the Burmese army. Thailand can and should use its economic leverage to effect change in Burma. Throughout the world, economics has a profound effect on politics, and Burma should be no exception.