US pressure for more reforms

Amid fears of backsliding political reforms in Myanmar, the United States has adopted a carrot-and-stick approach to ensure that the reforms stay on course.

On May 14, President Barack Obama extended economic sanctions against Myanmar for another year, telling Congress the step is needed, despite Myanmar’s progress.

Virginia Murray, the US Embassy’s deputy chief of mission, stressed that the continuation of reforms is a pre-requisite to easing sanctions. 

“Over the past three years, the United States has eased most of the sanctions. The US has left some of those sanctions and restrictions to ensure the reform momentum continues. We imposed no new sanctions. Our companies can do business in Myanmar, and local companies can export to the US,” she said.

“Reforms need to continue. The [Myanmar government’s] full-fledged commitment to freedom and human rights in this society is also important. The US government will continue evaluating that and see what will happen over the course of the year.” 

At a press conference on Friday, US Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Myanmar’s ongoing challenges include protecting the rights of all minority groups and human rights concerns. 

On Thursday, he met with President Thein Sein and other senior government ministers in Nay Pyi Taw, where they discussed humanitarian assistance for illegal migrants and boat people in the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca.

According to the US official, the Myanmar government is struggling with institutional change, is failing to keep its promises, oppressing journalists, faces civil protests and human rights issues. He said a high-level dialogue is needed to address these issues.

While urging Myanmar to grant the minority citizenship rights as a way to help reduce the current exodus, he highlighted the contradictions in the four race and religion bills. He also stressed the importance of protection of human rights in conflict areas.

“The Union government must respect the human rights of all communities of Rakhine State… Over the past two years, we provided more than US$109 million in assistance to improve food and health for all the communities in need, including in Rakhine and Shan states,” he said.

 

Sanctions

The US lifted most of its economic sanctions against Myanmar in 2012, following similar moves by Japan and the European Union.

Many of the sanctions were imposed in May 1997, following the military junta’s large-scale repression of the democratic opposition. In July 2012, the US government issued a general licence to authorise the export of US financial services to Myanmar, permitting the first new US investments in the country in nearly 15 years. The US decision in November 2012 injected new life into the Myanmar economy. Only exports of jade and rubies extracted from Myanmar remained banned.

President Obama notified leaders of Congress in a letter that he was renewing the National Emergencies Act for another year, which prohibits US businesses and individuals from investing in Myanmar entities or doing business with Myanmar figures involved in the repression of the democracy movement in the mid-1990s. 

He said the Myanmar government had made advances in critical areas, such as the release of more than 1,100 political prisoners, progress toward a nationwide ceasefire, the legalisation of unions and taken steps to improve the country’s labour standards.

However, he said: “Despite great strides that Burma has made in its reform effort, the situation in the country continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

”The political opening remains nascent, and concerns persist regarding ongoing conflict and human rights abuses in ethnic minority areas, particularly in Rakhine State, and the continued role of the military in the country’s political and economic activities.”

Patrick Ventrell, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told Reuters that significant challenges remain in Myanmar, including a dire humanitarian situation in Rakhine State and incidents of violence toward Muslims and other minorities.

He said Obama extended the restrictions for another year “in order to maintain the flexibility necessary to sanction bad actors and prevent backsliding on reforms, even as we broadly ease sanctions.”

In his letter to congressional leaders, Obama said: “Despite this action, the United States remains committed to supporting and strengthening Burma’s reform efforts and to continue working both with the Burmese government and people to ensure that the democratic transition is sustained and irreversible.”

The president’s words were reflected at an event held in Yangon last week, titled “The Initiative to Promote Fundamental Labour Rights and Practices in Myanmar.”

 

Soft approach

Launched in November 2014 during Obama’s visit to Myanmar, the initiative is designed to strengthen labour rights through a multi-year labour reform plan and foster strong relations among businesses, workers, labour and civil society organisations, and the government of Myanmar through a stakeholder consultative mechanism. These efforts will help improve the protection of Myanmar workers and support its businesses, which will increase the country’s attractiveness for investment and contribute to overall economic growth and development.

More than 200 participants, representing labour, business and civil society organisations, as well as governments and international organisations, took part in the two-day event, which featured discussions on labour law reform, labour disputes, child labour, the minimum wage, capacity building and other critical issues tied to Myanmar’s labour sector. The discussions helped identify a list of priority labour issues for the government and the Initiative Partners (the United States, Japan, Denmark, the European Union and the International Labour Organisation) to consider in developing a long-term labour law reform and capacity building plan, as the initiative calls for.

At the press conference, Blinken emphasised the US stance in supporting Myanmar’s democratic reforms and economic transformation. He noted that national reconciliation and the upcoming general elections play a crucial role in realising the aspirations of Myanmar citizens. 

“That is really up to the people of Myanmar. They will have to decide whether the elections are free and fair; whether the outcomes are satisfactory… We are watching closely to see Myanmar’s developments,” he said, urging the government to ensure that Myanmar people can choose the leader they want.”

He called for inclusive and transparent election, as it will be an important milestone in Myanmar’s reforms and an important moment for the long-isolated country. 

“We have seen remarkable progress over the past three years. At the same time, very significant challenges remain,” he said, adding that reform is a long-term process.