Politics and human rights come to a head in Burma, Jessica Loudis

j_loudis — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:40:36 +0000

Junta tightens political grip in Burma

Hopes for a political breakthrough in Burma have begun to dwindle after the reigning military junta announced it won 92% approval on a referendum for a military-drafted constitution last weekend. Under the junta's control, international aid groups have been prevented from accessing areas hardest hit by the cyclone, including the Irrawaddy Delta, which bore the brunt of the storm. Additionally, some international aid groups have accused the military of confiscating their food, with others refusing to speak out against the government for fear of being banned from the country. In light of the junta's reluctance to work with humanitarian organizations, the UN has decided to send a top official to Burma to persuade leaders to comply with foreign aid. In the two weeks since Cyclone Nargis struck Burma, 128,000 people have been killed and entire communities have been destroyed, devastating the country's infrastructure and exposing the brutal policies of the nation's current ruling junta.

The toD verdict: In addition to wreaking havoc on Burma's population and infrastructure, Cyclone Nargis has exposed the country to a new threat: harsher government crackdowns in the wake of increased international scrutiny. In the weeks following the crisis, governments and aid organizations from all over the world have focused their attention on Burma, inundating the country with aid packages and field workers, and furthermore, threatening to destabilise the country's tightly-guarded political insularity. As a result, the government has responded with stricter controls against foreigners, and a series of measures designed to affirm its "legitimate" and "popularly mandated" authority.

In tandem with the government's efforts to consolidate their power, one of Nargis' most pronounced effects has been to pit Burma's autocratic junta against NGOs and international government. The devastation in Burma - and the government's failure to respond to it - have raised complex sets of questions about outsiders' right to intervene and at what point exactly political sovereignty must cede to the imperatives of human rights. As the death toll rises and the threat of disease grows, these are questions which cannot be put on hold.
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Lebanon retracts Hizbollah targeted policies

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Politics and human rights come to a head in Burma, Jessica Loudis