Sen. Webb's Burma visit opens engagement opportunity

Source: Korea Times

Virginia Senator Jim Webb’s visit to Burma last week, to negotiate the release of an American, is fraught with complexity. In one sense, the initiation of negotiations undermined the cause of Aung San Suu Kyi, the prisoner in Burma most deserving of freedom. At the same time, the all too rare direct U.S.-Burma contact has created a critical juncture for U.S. policy toward the reclusive junta.

Though it remains unclear why Burma’s military leaders were willing to release their American prisoner, the United States should capitalize on the goodwill generated from this rare opportunity by engaging the authoritarian regime. If positive momentum can continue to build behind this event, then the United States may, over time, be able to establish greater interconnectivity with the closed country.

In May, eccentric American activist John Yettaw entered Burma and paid an illegal and uninvited visit to Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s democratically elected leader who also happens to have been under house arrest for more than a decade. Mr. Yettaw’s thoughtless visit earned Ms. Suu Kyi an extra 18-month sentence.

Senator Webb’s decision to reach out to the Burmese government to seek Mr. Yettaw’s release was as strategically prudent as it was morally unfortunate. While Mr. Yettaw’s eight year sentence in a hard labor camp hardly seems warranted, he did in fact commit a crime. Ms. Suu Kyi, who remains locked up, committed no crime.

In an attempt to refrain from being excessively judgmental, it is important to recognize that Burma had no incentive to release Mr. Yettaw; winning his freedom is the best outcome the United States could have expected in this situation.

That the United States has virtually no influence on the behavior of Burma’s junta is as morally repugnant as Ms. Suu Kyi’s continued captivity. When the Burmese government suspends the results of democratic elections, refuses urgently needed humanitarian aid out of paranoia, and detains thousands of political prisoners for participating in peaceful demonstrations, the injustice of Ms. Suu Kyi’s detainment is simply a microcosm of broader injustices around the country.

The only solution to this sad situation is some form of engagement. The United States has maintained sanctions for decades to no avail. Economic sanctions against Burma have adversely impacted Burma’s poor citizens far more than it has Burma’s ruling elite.

If the United States does not seek to initiate both formal and Track II (that is, nongovernmental) discussions with Burma now, there is little chance that another opportunity for engagement will come along any time soon.