Burma and its failing leadership

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Two years ago, Burma’s military junta stepped down, handing the keys to a softly spoken soldier called Thein Sein.

The newly installed president promised an orderly transition from pariah state to democracy – and what a great story it was.

Government ministers began to dismantle the architecture of the authoritarian state – the release and recent election of long-time dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi served as headline events. In the process, President Sein won the heartfelt thanks of his people – and the admiration of much of the international community.

Yet this transition has unleashed forces that the country’s leaders are struggling to control.

They currently find themselves in the midst a national emergency – a firestorm of ethnic hatred between Buddhists and Muslims in central parts of the country. Over the last week or so, 40 people have been confirmed dead and 12,000 Muslims have been forced to flee their homes – and the violence is edging closer to the country’s largest city, Rangoon.

Last night Thein Sein went on national television to plead with his people; “We must rise above sixty years of historical bitterness, confrontational approaches, and a zero-sum attitude in solving our differences,” he said. There was more to this than a simple call for calm – the country’s transitional leader was threatening to bring back the army. “In general, I do not endorse the use of force to solve problems. However, I will not hesitate to use force as a last resort to protect the lives and safeguard the property of general public.”

Commentators have blamed much of the trouble on the relaxation of social controls. People are largely free to say what they want in Burma, whether it is in the press or online, and this freedom has been used to whip up sectarian and ethnic tensions.

More importantly however, the crisis has also been caused by a lack of leadership at the top – the unwillingness of people like President Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi to take a clear ethical and political position when other Muslim groups – like the Rohingya – were being burnt out of their homes last year in Burma’s north-east.

Some 200 Rohingya were killed last year and 120,000 now live in squalid camps in Rakhine State. Prevented from working or travelling, many thousands have tried to escape in rickety fishing boats – an option that serves only the desperate.

In response, the government and Burma’s political opposition have looked the other way. President Sein suggested deportation as a “solution”: “We will send (the Rohingya) away if any third country would accept them.” It was an incredible – and barely credible proposal – no other country would accept the one million Rohingya who live Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi refused to get involved, arguing simply that “both sides are to blame” and urging a “return to the rule of law”.

However, in their actions and their statements both leaders have failed to lead. They have failed to check and challenge long-standing prejudices and enmities that exist in Burma – stirred up in part by the military generals who have now departed the scene – and they have failed to paint and sell an inclusive notion of Burmese citizenship to every member of this multi-ethnic and religious population.

Perhaps they are starting to get the message now. Last week, Ms Suu Kyi told reporters that that she viewed the most recent bout of violence,  “as a threat for the whole country as it can spread easily.” President Sein found room in his speech last night to say this: “it is our firm belief that an inclusive democratic society based on equality for all citizens will ensure peace and stability, especially in our country made up of various ethnic nationalities, religious beliefs, and cultures.”

Despite the hope and optimism that most people feel for this nation, its leaders and its institutions are proving weak and ineffectual – and the cost of continuing failure could be dire.