Myanmar no Arab Spring, but there are shoots

While no Arab Spring, recent news and events suggest that Myanmar's military dominated government might be easing restrictions and becoming less oppressive and totalitarian. The government has just given permission for long time critic Aung San Suu Kyi's and her opposition party to contest the next round of elections.

Additional moves that suggest that the military regime is keen to appease international condemnation and to bring an end to crippling embargoes include the decision to stop a Chinese funded dam project in the country's Kachin state and to ease internet restrictions.

As noted by a number of journalists last week, on observing the way a group of farmers protesting against land seizures were treated by Rangon police there is a sense that change is afoot - the farmers were dispersed instead of being imprisoned.

While nowhere near as open and positive as perestroika and demokratizatsiya introduced by President Gorbachev during the late 1980s, in an attempt to reform the soviet government and political apparatus, there is cause for optimism.

Spending time in Yangon and Mandalay over the last 2 weeks provides copious evidence that change is urgently needed if living conditions are to improve and the Myanmar people are to have any chance of enjoying the lifestyle and prosperity we so often take for granted.

It shouldn't surprise that there are some in Myanmar arguing that international embargoes and restrictions on trade and investment have caused greater harm to the people compared to the ruling elite.

The streets of the two major cities, with the exception of the roads to the airports, are rutted and full of potholes and the cars, reminiscent of Havana, are dilapidated and obsolete. When in Mandalay the taxi driver I employed for the day proudly lifted the bonnet of his 60-year-old car donated by the Japanese government at the end of the Second World War.

The apartments and buildings in Yangon, except for the occasional one like the Strand Hotel that has survived from the time of British rule, are begrimed and discoloured. The streetscape reminded me of India some 40 years ago with its broken monsoon drains, beggars and piles of rotting rubbish.

Such is the uncertainty about electricity generation that banks, hotels and restaurants often have generators sitting at their front doors or in their basements and tourists are warned to carry torches to use during the inevitable blackouts.

Taking the two hour train trip around the Yangon on the Yangon Circle Line best illustrates the decrepit and impoverished nature of the country's infrastructure. The train barely exceeds 10 mph, such is the condition of the track, and the carriages lack windows or doors and consist only of hard wooden benches and a rusting metal shell.

As I discovered on my recent trip, most tourists game enough to buy a ticket for the Circle Line fail to complete the full trip as the train slowly meanders from station to station with the occasional stop for labourers replacing old and rotting sleepers.

Mandalay, while made famous by Rudyard Kipling's poem and, more recently, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in Road to Mandalay also suffers from lack of investment and poor infrastructure. Lakes are clogged with refuse, buildings suffer from lack of care transport is rudimentary and hovels lay on the banks of the Irrawaddy.

It shouldn't surprise that Myanmar is one of the poorest nations in South East Asia with, according to Ausaid, some 30% of its 50 million people living below the poverty line. An oppressive military regime, lack of democracy, years of international embargoes and corruption have led to stifled economic growth and a growing chasm between rich and poor.

Talking to locals in Yangon's teashops it is important to understand that not all is gloom and doom. Myanmar is rich in resources, has a high literacy rate and a strong tradition in learning closely linked to the country's Buddhist heritage.

If moves to democracy continue there is a strong chance that international embargoes will be lifted, enabling multinationals to invest in jobs and infrastructure. Better still, the Myanmar people will be in a position to fully make use of their talents and abilities free from fear and constraint.

For some years Aung San Suu Kyi has counselled against tourists visiting Myanmar, more recently, she has suggested that visitors should make the journey to her country. Those visiting Myanmar can help by not making use of hotels and transport associated with the country's generals, travelling independently and making sure that they buy from the small shop owners and street stalls.