International Pressure Called Key To Lasting Reform in Burma

State's Eric John recaps U.S. diplomatic strategy to move junta toward reform

It will take an extraordinary coordinated effort by the international community to persuade Burma's ruling military junta to abandon its self-imposed isolation and move toward reform and national reconciliation, according to Eric John, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs.

The United States has developed bilateral and multilateral strategies that seek to maximize international pressure on the regime to initiate credible reforms, John told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee March 29.

Over the past several months, the United States has worked with like-minded partners in Europe as well as Japan, China, India, Australia and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to develop a common message for Burma's military rulers on the need for a "truly inclusive and credible political process leading to a democratic transition," John told the committee.

"We have stressed that the first steps would have to be the release of political prisoners including Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and the regime's engagement in a genuine political dialogue with the opposition and representatives of Burma's ethnic minorities,"he said.

Elements of that message are getting through to the regime, according to John.

The United States strongly supports the public stance on democratization in Burma taken by ASEAN in December 2005, and welcomes recent initiatives by public officials in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.

At the multilateral level, John said, the United States has kept Burma on the United Nations' agenda, pushing for further discussions to follow up on the Security Council's December 2005 briefing on the situation in Burma.

"We believe the Security Council has a critical role to play in promoting positive change there," he said.

STATE DEPARTMENT URGES RENEWAL OF SANCTIONS

Another component of the U.S. strategy is sanctions, John said. He called for renewal of the sanctions imposed under the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, which he said provide moral support for Burma's democratic opposition. Failure to renew the sanctions without meaningful reform would send the wrong message to the regime, he said.

"Our sanctions continue to play a critically important role, reminding the regime - and everyone else concerned with Burma - that the junta's behavior is unacceptable," John said.

The State Department official emphasized that even as the United States continues diplomatic efforts to pressure Burma for reforms, it also provides humanitarian support to address health, education and other needs of the Burmese people.

In the fiscal year that ended in September 2005, John said, the State Department provided more than $14 million to organizations independent of the regime to address key humanitarian and democracy concerns.

The United States also provided 2,000 units of protective clothing and disinfectant with sprayers to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in response to the March 12 outbreak of avian influenza near Mandalay, he added.

"Burma's road to democracy is neither short nor straight," John said, "but by pressing on with our intense efforts, we believe we can effectively shorten the time it will take to achieve the freedom, prosperity, and security for which Burma and its people so desperately yearn and richly deserve."

The full text of John's statement is available on the State Department's Web site.

For additional information, see U.S. Support for Democracy in Burma.

Source: U.S. Department of State

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