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Breaking Burma’s Isolation

The Obama administration’s decision to seek a new way forward in US-Burma relations recognizes that decades-long efforts to isolate Burma (Myanmar) in order to change the behavior of its government have achieved little. With Burma’s ruling generals preparing to hold elections later this year – for the first time since 1990 – it is time to try something different.

NEW YORK – The Obama administration’s decision to seek a new way forward in United States-Burma relations recognizes that decades of trying to isolate Burma (Myanmar) in order to change the behavior of its government have achieved little. With Burma’s ruling generals preparing to hold elections later this year – for the first time since 1990 – it is time to try something different.

Attempting to engage one of the world’s most authoritarian governments will not be easy. There is no evidence to indicate that Burma’s leaders will respond positively to the Obama administration’s central message, which calls for releasing the estimated 2,100 political prisoners (including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi), engaging in genuine dialogue with the opposition, and allowing fair and inclusive elections. In fact, the recently enacted electoral laws, which have been met with international condemnation, already point to a process that lacks credibility.

This past fall, we convened a task force under the auspices of the Asia Society to consider how the US can best pursue a path of engagement with Burma. We concluded that the US must ensure that its policies do not inadvertently support or encourage authoritarian and corrupt elements in Burmese society. At the same time, if the US sets the bar too high at the outset, it will deny itself an effective role in helping to move Burma away from authoritarian rule and into the world community.

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