lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

315Politics,Economics &SanctionsRegardless of the many questions raised about the fairness of the process,the 2010 elections have changed the political landscape in Myanmar.After decades of military dictatorship, there’s now a quasi-civiliangovernment and many new political parties, the most significant ofwhich represent ethnic minorities. Declared illegal by the ruling powers,the National League for Democracy (NLD) continues to function,in the eyes of both locals and the international community, as the mainopposition force and champion of democracy. It’s hard to know whetherthe elections are a token attempt by the government to appease criticsor a substantive step along the path to an open and democratic society.The political situation post-election is certainly more complex, andthe country’s economy is yet another can of worms. Having first disastrouslydabbled in socialist economics – and very nearly lost control ofthe country in 1988 because of it – the military was saved at the eleventhhour by trade deals for raw materials cut with neighbouring countries.Enormous revenue has been gained from the export of natural gas, andgovernment figures now posit double-digit economic growth for Myanmar,which doesn’t exactly tally with the country’s status as one of thepoorest in the world.In the meantime, the debate and policy differences continue in theoutside world over economic sanctions: their efficacy in persuadingthe government to become more democratic and stop violating humanrights, and whether they generally help or harm ordinary people inMyanmar.PoliticsThe Government/MilitaryOver the last 50 years, Myanmar’s rulers (aka the military) have adopteda variety of guises. They started out as the Burma Socialist ProgrammeParty (BSPP) in 1962, which morphed into the State Law and OrderRestoration Council (Slorc) in 1988, which was then renamed the StatePeace and Development Council (SPDC) in 1997. In the run up to the2010 election many in the upper echelons of the military resigned theirposts to become candidates for the military-backed Union Solidarity andDevelopment Party (USDP), which, to nobody’s surprise, was the victorat the polls.The names and some faces may have changed, but few people insideor outside Myanmar believe that the military have relinquished control.The Burma Campaign UK points out that ‘More than 80% of MPs comeDavid Steinberg’sBurma/Myanmar:What EveryoneNeeds to Knowsheds light onmany aspectsof the country’scomplex situationvia a seriesof concise andunderstandableQ&As on historyand culture.Guy Delisle’sBurma Chroniclesis a graphic accountof the yearthat the Canadiancartoonist spentin Myanmarwith his wife, anadministrator forMedecins SansFrontières (MSF).It’s both amusingand horrifying,covering topicsranging fromelectricity outagesto the heroinshooting galleriesin Chinese-ownedjade-mine towns.