8 - Beyond the Rhetoric: New Zealand and Myanmar

Summary

Introduction

Myanmar gained its independence from colonial rule in 1948. After a brief period of parliamentary democracy, the armed forces took control of the country in 1962, setting up a one-party state under military control. When this system threatened to collapse under popular pressure in 1988, the military reasserted direct control. The new regime, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), annulled an election process in 1990 that was to instigate a new democratic constitution. Myanmar was accepted as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in July 1997. Today, Myanmar has a population of about 50 million, in a country approximately 2.5 times the size of New Zealand in land area. Ethnic Burmans account for around 65 per cent of the population with minority ethnic groups including Karen, Shan, Kayin, Chin, Rhakine, Kaya, Mon, and Arakan.

On 6 May 2002 the opposition and pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was freed by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC — there was a name change from the SLORC in 1997), the military rulers of Myanmar, after nineteen months of house arrest. The release of this Nobel Peace Prize winner, in and out of house arrest since 1989, was greeted by overwhelming relief by the international media. Press reports noted her “fragile femininity” and “steely determination”, how she was “delicate and serene”, and, again, how her “femininity” belied her “extraordinary determination”. While the media were effusive and curiously personalizing in their observations, New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Phil Goff, was more restrained. He welcomed Suu Kyi's release, describing her as a “champion of democracy”, and called on the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to release other political prisoners. Goff also noted that if “her release proves to be unconditional, and provided positive change continues in Myanmar, New Zealand will look at joining international efforts to assist the people of Myanmar and support economic and political progress”.

Goff was not, however, explicit as to what those international efforts were and this is central to understanding New Zealand's relationship with Myanmar. An editorial in the Dominion argued that “there is room to ease sanctions if the steps toward democracy continue”.