Myanmar's (Burma's) six domestic challenges in the 1990s

Abstract

THE transfer of power from the military to the elected leaders: The first challenge for the people of Burma. The May 27 election clearly demon- strated that the people want a change in the nation's political leadership. Twenty-eight years of misrule, incompetence and human rights violations by the men who seized power in 1962 and replaced democracy with dictatorship, has been rejected twice in less than three years in 1988, when the people marched peacefully for political change and were rewarded with brutal suppression for their efforts, and again in the recent elections. From the most recent statements by General Saw Maung, a transfer of power is a long way off. - The military's refusal to accede immediately to the vote of the people probably stems, in part, from fear that it will be held accountable for corruption and the human rights violations committed against the people under its rule and on the battlefield. The record is long and documented, and the memories of the brutal suppression of the peaceful demonstrations in the spring and summer of 1988 and afterward are still fresh in the minds of the victims' families. The soldiers in power know that in Argentina and elsewhere, where the military was forced to give up power, men respon- sible for human rights violations and corruption have been tried and convicted for their crimes. There is also the unfinished business of the civil war. Professional pride is at stake for the military, which despite its size and resources, has not defeated the larger ethnic minorities - the Karens and Kachins - in battle.