Forgive and forget key to Burma’s democracy?

Perhaps the only thing going for current and future administrations is that after decades of oppression and neglect, these expectations will be coming off a low base. Parts of the major city, Yangon, are in ruins. Government departments are housed in decrepit buildings left over from the colonial era; negotiating the cracked and broken pavements is a continuing health hazard.

And in the countryside, the situation is worse still as roads rapidly decline into muddy cart tracks; electricity a luxury for those who can afford a generator.  

Yet Burma has the potential to be one of the richest countries in South-East Asia. A list of its resources is mind-boggling: petroleum, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, precious stones…the list goes on and on. Simply scratching the surface of this bounty made past military leaders, notably the notorious Ne Win, fabulously wealthy. If handled properly it could fund the social reforms that the country so desperately needs. If not, it could easily spark the kind of unrest that would give the military the excuse to seize power again.

In order for a reforming Government is to succeed it needs the support of the international community. China is already operating in the country, principally at a controversial copper mine in the north-west – a massive development which is opposed by local villagers, who say they are being forced off their traditional lands without proper compensation.

Their protests, backed by monks and environmentalists, led to the kind of ugly incidents that are exactly what the country doesn’t want as it opens up to the world.

The landmark visit by United States President Barack Obama in November and a further relaxation of sanctions by Washington has been followed by a delegation of 50 American and international business representatives led by Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Jose Fernandez.

Welcoming the delegation, the Chairman of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Win Aung, said it heralded a new chapter in relations with the US.

“We also hope to welcome business interests from Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore,” Win Aung said afterwards.

Pedersen goes further, saying that the West must begin to embrace Burma’s military despite the well-catalogued list of human rights abuses against its name.

“The Tatmadaw must be given an incentive to back the reforms,” he said

“I believe there should be military-to-military contacts with the West, including Australia, and the Tatmadaw should be gradually integrated into the international peacekeeping progress.

“Obviously this is a very sensitive issue, but I believe it’s the pragmatic thing to do to ensure Burma passes safely into a new democratic era.”

While some of the gloss has been lost from National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi since she entered Parliament in a by-election almost a year ago, her party is still expected to win the 2015 election handily paving the way for her to become president.

Her ability to form a board-based government, encouraging key members of the diaspora to come home and build the nation, utilising the talents of academia, business and even the military, will be the supreme test for the daughter of Aung San, still revered by vast sections of the population as the father of modern Burma.