Burma's Rulers Tighten Grip on Power | Voice of America - English
This week, Rangoon extended by another year its five-year detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. And last week, the government held the second round of a referendum on a new constitution in the wake of a devastating cyclone that left more than 130,000 people dead or missing. Meanwhile, cyclone survivors have seen little aid from Rangoon -- more than three weeks after the storm.  President Bush says he is deeply troubled by Burma's decision to continue the house arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained since 2003.
In recent weeks, Burma's military rulers have taken steps to strengthen their hold on power. Soon after the cyclone hit, they held a two-stage referendum on a new constitution, which they say will pave the way for elections in 2010. The government claims that 98 percent of the people took part in the vote and that more than 92 percent approved the document. A Bangkok-based political analyst, Larry Jagan, says he is not optimistic about genuine democracy emerging in Burma under the new constitution. "If there is to be a real transition to multi-party democracy, as all of the military leaders of Burma are insisting, then they have to allow some form of liberalization," says Jagan. Since Ban Ki-moon's visit to Rangoon, Burma's rulers have allowed more international relief to trickle into the country. Burma has come under intense criticism for not letting aid workers distribute supplies inside the country to help cyclone victims -- more than three weeks after the storm. The military government says it welcomes foreign aid "without stings attached," but so far has allowed only a few relief workers into the country. Some observers, including attorney Jared Genser, wonder how such a small country could snub the international offers of help. "Because they have developed and cultivated powerful allies in the form of such countries as China and India, and now Thailand and other members of the [U.N.] Security Council like South Africa, Vietnam and others who have their own economic interests to preserve the regime as is," says Genser. "China does not want to see democratization of Burma because it means that they would then have to compete with the West and other countries for liquid natural gas, oil, timber and gemstones, which are in abundant supply in Burma." Genser says he hopes a national reconciliation can bring together Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy, various ethnic groups and the military government to achieve a democratic transition similar to the one that took place in South Africa. He says this is the only long-term solution to Burma's problems.