FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Aung San Suu Kyi and the rule of law 

Aung San Suu Kyi and the rule of law 

Aung San Suu Kyi repeatedly says that what Myanmar needs is the rule of law. 

In principle, rule of law is simple, defined by the dictionary as “the restriction of the arbitrary exercise of power by subordinating it to well-defined and established laws”.
Yet despite its transition from junta regime to quasi-democracy with the election of 2015, Myanmar fails the rule of law definition in every possible way. 
The real government of the country – its military rulers – are lawless, as are the soldiers, police, bureaucrats, businesspeople and journalists who serve them. This entire class totals perhaps 500,000 people.
It is mostly made up of the Buddhist Burmans, who have ruled over a society comprised of many different ethnic nationalities for centuries. 
The generals – and now Suu Kyi – act as absolute monarchs whose birthright is to make and keep the laws, no matter how unjust or arbitrary. It should come as no shock, then, that there is an enormous amount of crime in Myanmar.
The Burman overlords have always discriminated against other ethnic groups, conquering their ancestral homelands and perpetrating countless distinct crimes, including murder, rape, torture, assault, robbery, arson and theft.
In the last three weeks, though, there has been an orgy of crime against the small Rohingya group in Rakhine state. It is true that the actions of the military junta against the Shan, Karenni (“red Karen”), Karen, Kachin and others met the international definition of “crimes against humanity”. But these crimes were perpetrated during distinct military offensives, spread over years if not decades. 
In contrast, the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya is unparalleled since the 1757 genocide of the Mon.
Over 370,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in the past three weeks alone. It’s over half a million since 2012. There are also many more still in Myanmar, either in hiding or in camps.
If Myanmar had a functioning rule of law, there would be no doubt that literally millions of distinct chargeable and punishable crimes have just been committed. 
Unfortunately, Suu Kyi seems to believe that you can get the rule of law by wishing for it, like a child after seeing a shooting star. She’s dreaming. For a genuine rule of law, you must have a society that is peaceful and in balance. And this in turn requires democracy – but not fake democracy with a military constitution, military control over three crucial ministries, and a fake parliament that meets but does nothing. 
Here, the Myanmar people have been betrayed by a false prophet, Suu Kyi, who has maintained the divisive politics of ethnic prejudice. If the price of your democracy is the ethnic cleansing of more than a million inhabitants, then your democracy is fake and merely a continuation of junta rule by another name. 
Myanmar desperately needs a new generation of pro-democracy leaders whose aim is to unite the populace and lead them to genuine democracy and multicultural nationhood.
Roland Watson
(www.dictatorwatch.org)

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