By: Banya Hongsar, Canberra, November, 2010 : On November 7th, Burma will be holding a national election after 22 years of military rule that has placed the nation under insecurity and subsequent poverty. Public security is the crucial issue facing the Burmese government in the post election period. Unless poverty and security issues are addressed, the dream for democracy will not be met.
A battle ground for the new government is real – not just to stop a new civil war, but to bring about a peace accord and political settlement. Governing by the rule of law underpins a democratic society in the modern era and the Burmese government has not heeded the rule of law for over six decades. Human rights abuses are reported daily, soldiers constantly escaping punishment for raping rural ethnic women. Six-decades of racial discrimination against the ethnic people must end. Both the elected president, and government troops stationed in ethnic territories, must be held accountable for breaking the law.
This current civil war between the ethnic people’s army and the Burmese government has caused poverty and insecurity. For a democracy to exist effectively, the ethnic people must be granted the right to self-determination under the new parliamentary system, but for this to happen the constitution must be changed.
After twenty years of deadlock, the Burmese people need to find an alternative way to change their national political system. One example may be found in Indonesia’s Aceh Province. Ben Hilliman, a researcher from The Centre for Democratic Institutions at Australian National University based in Canberra, recently asserted in a policy paper that “as for arguments that local political parties will exacerbate ethnic or regional divisions by institutionalizing cleavages in the party system, Aceh is an example of how such risks can be mitigated. So far, Aceh’s experience suggests that, if managed properly, local political parties can help build legitimacy and provide political access to communities that might otherwise not be represented in the political system.”
Unfortunately, optimism for government change is hard to find as it is well known that the current military elites will only change their uniform and continue to control the executive power as civilians in the new government. This new government will especially have to deal with one man, Senior General Than Shwe, in order to balance power between the parliament and the military dominated executive power. He has been called the ‘ghost’ of the election, remaining behind the scenes as a powerful force of manipulation.
The November 7th elections will inform us about the possibility for change and democracy, but I have little hope.
