Burma: The Notion of Responsibility to Protect Versus

No.04 - 10/2007
5 October 2007
Politics
 

Burma: The Notion of Responsibility to Protect Versus
Non-Interference

_{By: Sai Wansai}

 
The only way to stop this "reign of terror" and tyrannical rule in Burma is a full scale humanitarian intervention. Where have all the noises of "responsibility to protect", which unofficially have been endorsed by almost all democratic countries gone?
 
It is quite clear that the UN Security Council cannot undertake any such intervention, where China for fear of exposing its gross human rights violations and Russia, which is struggling hard to bounce back as a third world champion of Cold War days, wield veto power and has also make use of it to protect the Burmese junta. And so it is left to the EU and US to build necessary consensus to physically protect this crime against humanity.

_{Sai Wansai}
 
As it is, the US might have played all its cards and none left to bet on Burma, according to a number of vocal and concerned opinion-makers . But many, especially the suffering and oppressed people of Burma, think the US, with the solid backing of EU, could pull this show, with a much smaller investment than in Iraq and Afghanistan, where a huge profit could be reaped, in kind of riding moral high horse, standing tall and feeling good to have championed the cause of all mankind.
 
The people of Burma has risen up many times, only to be crushed by the military. And no one could blame them for not doing enough for freedom and restoration of democracy.
 
Just as the Germans were not able to get rid of Hitler and his Nazi regime in pre-war days on their own and Allied forces had to come to their rescue, the people of Burma, urgently need the same type of help from international community. Anything less than this would mean the continuation of tyrannical rule indefinitely.
 
Furthermore, the so-called “non-interference” notion should be only valid for countries, which adhere to democratic principle, where the ruling government protects and look after its citizens and not that is slaughtering and harming the populace.
 
As such, the military junta of Burma cannot be granted the privilege and treatment with internationally accepted norm of  “non-interference” of a sovereign state.
 
It is now up to the West in general to let Burma sinks further into the deep hole of Darfur-like tragedy and live with guilty consciousness or pull all its moral strength to right the wrong, restore justice, human right and democracy.
 
_{The author is General Secretary of the Shan Democratic Union (SDU) – Editor}