FOCUS : Myanmar: What Should U.S. Do?

Last week, Assistant Secretary of State Richard Soloman said the U.S. government is considering additional economic sanctions against My a nmar, formerly Burma. Soloman said the military has failed to transfer power to a civilian government, as decided in elections last May. Myanmar has also failed to release all political prisoners and improve its narcotics suppression, he said.

Also last week, the U.N. Human Rights Commission voted to condemn Myanmar for various violations.

Since Myanmar’s military brutally suppressed a popular uprising in 1988, the United States has cut off $12 million in aid . The U.S. government has also suspended favorable tariff treatment and opposed loans from the International Monetary Fund and other organizations.

Staff writer Teresa Watanabe interviewed two experts on whether new economic sanctions were justified against the Southeast Asian nation and what they might involve .

David Steinberg, professor and East Asian scholar, Georgetown University:

What they are talking about is sanctions against direct Burma exports (to the United States). The problem is that Burma exports very little to the U.S. directly. (Myanmar’s exports to the United States totaled $11.3 million in 1988.) The real issue is third-country exports of Burma products--Burmese teak processed in Thailand, or shrimp and fish products.

Another issue is investment in Burma by other countries, such as Korea. One Korean company, Daewoo, has set up a garment factory for export. So what is the U.S. planning to do about that? And what about direct U.S. investment in Burma? That direct investment is basically two companies, Amoco and Unocal, which are involved in oil exploration.

Sanctions are not going to have any effect unless they are very broad and deal with these third-country products. It would be more appropriate to do it under the auspices of the United Nations on the basis of the (human-rights) report. For the U.S. to be the point man up front doesn’t do any good. Our moral leadership should be in conjunction with very broad-based donor groups, especially the Japanese.

Japan is the critical actor. Japan has provided $2.2 billion in aid to Burma since 1954 and was the largest bilateral donor before its cut-off of aid in 1988. (In 1988, Japan donated $259 million to Myanmar, 78% of the nation’s total foreign assistance.) They wield more influence than anybody else.

I think there ought to be a time limit set. If you’re going to have sanctions, they ought to say, “If something doesn’t happen by a certain date, and they don’t fulfill their own stated objectives, then the U.S. and others can move ahead.”

At that point, sanctions might have an effect.

Soe Win, first secretary, Embassy of the Union of Myanmar:

In order to establish a peaceful and democratic state, we have to work on our own in accordance with the Myanmar way. The international community can best help this process by refraining from interference or exerting pressure in any shape or form. Let the Myanmar people proceed along our own path.

We have our own problems to solve. There is an insurgency on the border areas, defections from political parties and our own developing economy.

But we are doing our best for narcotics control. The present military government has promised to transfer power, and we are going to do it. After we transfer power, martial law will be lifted. As for political prisoners, we have no political prisoners in our country. Those under restriction or detention are not because they engaged in political activity but because they contravened existing laws.

(Critics) got their information from those who are not working in the best interests of the country, such as insurgents. The allegations are not accurate.

We need international economic cooperation. For a quarter of a century, we practiced a socialist economy. We abolished that system in 1988. We have adopted a foreign investment law. Amoco is making explorations in our country, and we have invited many other companies in our country. So more trade sanctions will not benefit our country or the international community.

In the shortest possible time there will be a transfer of power to what the international community is expecting. But instead of exerting pressure, they should give us a chance to let us do it on our own.