There are real signs of change in Burma

Andrew Mitchell, International Development Secretary.

18 November 2011 

Never meet your heroes, the adage goes. But that was proved wrong for me on Thursday morning when I met Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma.

The cheering crowds thronging the road to the school we visited were testament to the reverence in which she is held across the country.
Generations of families were there to see and hear the 'beloved daughter of Burma', the woman who represents their hopes and their dreams for the future.
She has paid a heavy price: under house arrest for years; separated from her children; prevented by the regime from visiting her dying husband; yet she shrugs off her own suffering. She is an inspiration.
This has been an extraordinary visit in so many ways. Just months ago, the idea of a British Cabinet Minister making a joint public visit with Aung San Suu Kyi would have been unthinkable. There are real – if tentative – signs of change in Burma.
A year after Miss Suu Kyi's release from house arrest, a new president has opened up a process of reform: relaxing media censorship, releasing some political prisoners, opening a formal dialogue with Miss Suu Kyi, and changing the election laws which are designed to enable her National League for Democracy to stand for office.

For those of us who have followed Burma closely for the last two decades, it is impossible not to feel some stirrings of hope for the country.
But we are only at the beginning of this road. Hundreds of political prisoners languish in jail. Bitter conflict still rages in the ethnic border areas, and we hear credible reports of serious human rights abuses by the Burmese army. The conflict has brought a humanitarian crisis in its wake. There are disturbing rumours of military collaboration with North Korea.

Earlier this week I met the Burmese president and other senior ministers. And my message to them was clear and simple. Britain welcomes the progress which has been made; but we must see further urgent change. The release of all remaining political prisoners, including the charismatic pro-democracy activist Min Ko Naing, whom I met on my last visit in 2007. Free and fair by-elections. A genuine ceasefire, respect for human rights and credible efforts towards national reconciliation in the border areas, with immediate humanitarian access. A commitment to the military moving to their proper place in society: under the control of legitimate, elected civilian politicians.
As fundamental changes happen, Britain stands ready to respond with a fundamental shift in our relationship with Burma, including movement on sanctions, trade, aid and development programmes, investment, and restrictive measures.
I was asked a number of times on my visit how long I think the reform process will take to complete. The answer to that is clear: it is up to the President and his men. If Aung San Suu Kyi and Burmese democrats continue to believe that reform efforts are genuine and enduring, we in Britain and the international community will respond in an appropriate manner. For Burma this could genuinely be a bright new dawn.