Australia’s Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has announced that the Australian government has decided to ease financial and travel sanctions on a number of the country’s former politicians. Mr. Rudd told the press on January 9th that removing such sanctions reflects Burma’s progress towards democracy after several decades of totalitarian military rule.
Is it time for the US, which has maintained sanctions against Burma for nearly two decades, to lift some of its restrictions as well? According to Thailand Lawyers and other observers, it would seem that the Obama administration is leaning in that direction. US secretary of State Hilary Clinton traveled to Burma in a landmark visit in 2011, where she made the announcement that the US would consider lifting its sanctions against Burma if the country’s recently elected civilian government continued to make democratic reforms. Two top US officials are currently visiting Burmese government officials to discuss human trafficking and microfinance programs. But is easing sanctions so early in the game really appropriate?
Certainly, the new Burmese government had made a number of reforms – the most recent of these being the government’s cancellation of construction on a large coal-run power plant due to environmental concerns – but should these small steps forward really be considered sufficient to earn an easing of sanctions? Of concern to human rights lawyers in Thailand and elsewhere is the fact that residents of rural Burma (where the majority of the country’s population resides) are still plagued by many of the hardships they faced before the new government came to power in 2010, including power cuts, poor infrastructure, health issues, and Burmese military attacks. While western powers may rightly applaud the reforms that have been made in the country, will easing sactions before true reforms take hold in all of Burma leave the majority of the country’s citizens behind?
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