Canada Can and Should Do More

Embassy, September 5th, 2007
NEWS STORY

Advocates Urge Canada to Get Active on Burma

Instead of China-Burma relations, conference-goers last week discussed Canada's role in the Asian nation, calling on the Harper government to back up its talk of change with actions.

By Lee Berthiaume

Burmese political leaders and pro-democracy advocates said Canada can and should do more to help spearhead change within the military junta-ruled country by pushing for dialogue along the lines of North Korea's six-party talks and establishing a country-specific aid program at CIDA.

The leaders and advocates were in Ottawa for a two-day conference, the first of its kind in Canada, to discuss the role China is playing in the Southeast Asian country that is also known as Myanmar. However, much of the dialogue instead focussed on Canada's role.

The meeting came the same week the junta staged a brutal crackdown on protestors who were upset over a fivefold increase in fuel prices. Government forces are reported to have beaten up the demonstrators, jailed 41 of them, and hired thugs to break up any new protests.

Conference participants, including officials from the National League for Democracy-Liberated Areas (NLD-LA), a political party that operates in the Thai-Burma border areas and abroad, and exiled Burmese activists, drafted a declaration that called "on Canada, ASEAN, the European Union, the United States of America, Russia and Burma's neighbors, to convene a multi-party talk similar to Six-party Talks on North Korea, to facilitate reforms and a transition."

They also called on Canada and the international community to "urgently address the deteriorating political, economic and humanitarian situation in Burma," and on Canada itself to find an effective way to support the empowerment of civil society and democratic development in Burma."

In a presentation on Aug. 30 to those assembled, Conservative Deputy House Leader Scott Reid said the Canadian government remains committed to pressuring the military junta to release political prisoners, halt human rights violations and embrace democracy.

"Under Prime Minister Stephen Harper's leadership, the government of Canada remains firmly committed to promoting democratic reform," Mr. Reid said.

Since the Burmese military took control in 1988, Canada has imposed sanctions on the country, implemented visa bans on senior military officials, and repeatedly voiced its concerns over the junta's poor human rights record and draconian measures to clamp down on pro-democracy efforts.

Mr. Reid highlighted the sanctions and bans Canada has placed on the junta's leaders, and said the government believes the international community must work together to address the situation.

"Canada actively encourages other nations, particularly Burma's immediate neighbours, to press Burma's rulers to take concrete steps towards genuine political dialogue with the opposition," Mr. Reid said, adding Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier "is a strong supporter of an uncompromising stance on the Burma issue."

"It's only through the kind of principle shown by Prime Minister Harper and Foreign Minister Bernier that we can expect the international community to successfully pressure the regime in Burma to make real changes."

Canada 'Well-Positioned' as Mediator

Tin Maung Htoo, executive director of the Canadian Friends of Burma, which organized the conference, welcomed Mr. Reid's comments, but said statements are not enough.

"I sincerely hope the government of Canada will be more proactive, especially under Prime Minister Stephen Harper's leadership," he said. "Issuing statements and condemning those atrocities and crackdowns on peaceful demonstration is encouraging for people inside Burma. At the same time, we should show something tangible for support of these people."

Harn Yawnghwe is the son of Sao Shwe Thaik, who was the first elected president of Burma when it became a republic in 1948. Mr. Thaik died in prison in 1962 following a coup, and Mr. Yawnghwe has since moved to Canada where he has worked as an advocate for democracy in Burma.

"As Canadians, we are too modest," Mr. Yawnghwe told participants on Aug. 30. "We say we are too small a country, that we can't do anything."

However, Mr. Yawnghwe said Canada is well positioned to facilitate talks between the military junta and its neighbours to resolve the situation. The idea of such talks is not new, and has been forwarded by such people as Michael Green, a former advisor to U.S. President George W. Bush.

The situation in Burma represents a security threat to the region, advocates said, adding that it appears China is opening its eyes to the need for a resolution in the country to ensure instability doesn't spill over into its borders.

Earlier this year, China hosted a secret meeting between a key U.S. diplomat and junta officials in Beijing, which the advocates took as a sign of China's willingness to play a constructive role in Burma.

If India, Bangladesh and key members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations–of which Burma is a member, can be brought on side, as well as the United States, a political resolution is possible, Mr. Yawnghwe said.

Mr. Yawnghwe acknowledged that Canada has placed sanctions on Burma–though at least one Canadian mining company continues to operate in the country, supplying much-needed cash to the junta–but real sanctions through the United Nations aren't possible because Security Council approval hasn't come to pass.

"So you have to take another angle," he said in an interview. "We've [proposed talks] several times, but no one has wanted to take it on."

It would take political capital to kick-start such talks, Mr. Yawnghwe said, but the potential for success is there, and Canada could "become a leader on the world stage again."

Special Aid Program Urged

Those comments were echoed by Nyo Ohn Myint, head of the NLD-LA's foreign affairs committee and a former aid to detained Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We'd be very happy if Canada mediates the situation," Mr. Myint said.

Mr. Myint said Canada is well suited to persuade the military junta, Burma's neighbours, including China, and other groups to hold talks to resolve the ongoing problems plaguing the country. The United States, he said, is not well regarded by the junta, and Scandinavian countries like Norway, which has championed talks in Sri Lanka, have openly supported the opposition.

Participants also called on the Canadian government to establish a specific aid program to Burma. The country is noticeably absent from CIDA's long list of development partners, and Mr. Yawnghwe said this is the result of the Burmese pro-democracy movements own success.

"We lobbied in 1988 for it to be cut off," he said.

The two men said CIDA does run some humanitarian projects along the borders, specifically where refugees are living in Thailand and Bangladesh, but that money is often scraped together from other places or regional funds and there is no dedicated funding.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade document available online notes that "Burma-based projects are limited and are only supported when they meet the requirements set out by [Ms. Suu Kyi] that assistance be accountable, transparent, and reach the intended recipients."

Mr. Myint said Canada needs to spend more on long-term projects like strengthening civil society, and improving education and health systems.

He acknowledged there is a great deal of controversy surrounding all aid to Burma. Some believe donor countries should only fund projects in the borderlands, while others say money for civil society groups toiling in the country are also needed.

Both men felt any and all aid, as long as it didn't go directly to the junta, makes a difference.

"Helping refugees, applying diplomatic pressure, that's really needed and really appreciated," Mr. Myint said. "But we need more concrete moves from Western countries."