Regime In Myanmar Research Articles

Democratic Regime in Myanmar and the Rights of the Rohingya Community

Abstract The right of ethnic minorities, particularly those of the Rohingyas, have been continually and repeatedly denied in Myanmar. When Aung San Suu Kyi’s party came into power, the right of various ethnic groups, especially the rights of Rohingyas during Suu Kyi’s regime were violated. Unfortunately, the conditions for the Rohingya have continued to worsen. The findings of this research show that the human rights of Rohingya in Myanmar were challenged during Aung San Suu Kyi’s so-called democratic regime via ethnic cleansing owing to the absence of real democratic norms, unequal treatment, and state-sponsored violations of human rights against the Rohingya community. The key reasons behind the failure to ensure the rights of the ethnic Muslim minority include militarism in the democratic structure, a lack of democratic institutions, international politics and the interest of powerful countries, a lack of democratic culture, and an aggressive attitude towards the Rohingya. Finally, the paper proposes some policy implications.

The Rohingya Crisis and the Emergence of ‘Humanitarian’ Bangladesh

The Rohingya crisis entered a new phase since 25 August 2017. The exodus of more than 750,000 Rohingyas into Bangladesh reinforced the ongoing Rohingya crisis at an unprecedented scale. It marks a new level of suppression and brutality by the Myanmar regime. Despite identifying the crisis as a result of ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘genocide’, the global response has been timid and inadequate largely due to the pursuits of geopolitical interests over humanitarianism. Bangladesh is an exception to this pessimistic and parochial outlook of national interests. Bangladesh has not only provided its own resources to mitigate sufferings of the Rohingyas, it has also mobilized global diplomacy to an unprecedented scale in support of the permanent solution of the Rohingya crisis. The purpose of the paper is to understand how Bangladesh has emerged as a humanitarian state. It maps out and understands policies and actions of Bangladesh in response to the Rohingya crisis. It seeks to reorient critical analysis of the Bangladesh response away from traditional geopolitics and instead towards humanitarian considerations associated with global norms and values. In fact, the paper posits a paradox how an LDC with enormous resource constraint and acute population pressure, Bangladesh can come forward to support more than a million persecuted and distressed people on earth when powerful nations with a plenty of resources and wealth shy away from humanitarian appeals of thousands of Rohingya children, women and men.

The constitution of Myanmar: a contextual analysis

On 8 November 2020 the Myanmar (Burma) electorate once again returned to the polls, with many queuing from the early hours to participate in the third set of nationwide elections since the establishment of the 2008 constitution. Expected results at the time of writing indicate another landslide victory for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), a party made up of ex-political prisoners and pro-democracy activists. Nevertheless, there has been increasing scepticism about the success of Myanmar's regime transition from military dictatorship to democracy. The continuing ethnic violence in many of the borderlands, including but not limited to the persecution of the Rohingya, would appear to overshadow supposed institutional and electoral progress in the past twelve years. Yet as this book by Melissa Crouch details, the answer to the success of Myanmar's transition and democratic potential lies not in its electoral process but within its constitution. In 2008, Myanmar held a referendum on the newly drafted constitution which passed with overwhelming success despite the vote being held days after Cyclone Nargis devastated much of the central lowlands. The decision to go ahead and the result exemplified the gap between what was democratic transition on the surface and the realities of the environment in which it was occurring. As the first part of the book outlines, both the oversight and participation of the military in the drafting and securing of the 2008 constitution have not only undermined but completely restricted the process. Though the language of democracy may be used when discussing Myanmar, this detailed analysis of the constitution and of the first two elections held under its aegis in 2010 and 2015 paint a very different picture.

Myanmar at a Crossroads

In this essay, the author remembers his first visit to Myanmar more than 25 years ago and discusses factors that influence the appointment or election of leaders. In Asia there are many incidences of female relatives who take over leadership positions following the removal or decline of their husband, father, or brother. Next, focusing on the opposition to the military regime in Myanmar, the author analyzes conditions for public protest movements to be successful. One condition is that the cause is worthy and the leader inspires the people. The other condition is that the pressure of international public opinion becomes so great that the regime is forced to give in. The essay concludes with suggested action by the international community for the situation in Myanmar to return to normal.

Repatriation for Rohingya asylum seekers in Indonesia: a durable but almost impossible solution

Rohingya are among multiple refugees and asylum seekers who have arrived in Indonesia without any certainty of their futures. For most Rohingya refugees, Indonesia is a transit country, where they register with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Refugee Agency before being allowed to relocate to third countries. Indonesia did not sign the 1951 Convention on Refugee Status and does not officially accept refugees for permanent resettlement. Refugees and asylum-seekers reaching Indonesia arrive there in several circumstances. Some are fleeing oppression, others have run out of money, others are involved in human-trafficking, and still others have become stranded on Indonesia’s beaches. There are three options for Rohingya people stranded in Indonesia: repatriation to Myanmar, reintegration to Indonesia, or seeking asylum in third countries (resettlement). However, the Indonesian government believes that a durable solution for the Rohingya in Indonesia is repatriation or resettlement. Based on historical traces and international law, Rohingya should have the absolute right to return to Myanmar. However, in practice, this is difficult. The attitude of the Myanmar regime, distrust of the Rohingya people toward Myanmar’s government, and lack of support from neighboring ASEAN countries are among the reasons why this option is particularly challenging.

Lesson Learned of Rohingya Persecution in Myanmar for Sustainable Development and Policy Transformation in Malaysia

This paper examines about the lesson learned of persecuted Rohingya people in Myanmar. The Myanmar regime does not recognize the Rohingyas as their people and accused them as Bengalis from Bangladesh. The issue of denied citizenship has caused the Rohingya people to live in limbo. Unlike other ethnics in Myanmar, they are denied the rights as sovereign citizens. The situation becomes worse when the other local citizens, for the reason of ethnic and religion matters, join forces with the regime in violating and abusing the Rohingyas. Therefore, the Rohingyas are left as stateless people in their own country and are forced to become refugees to seek a better life. The case of the Rohingya people in Myanmar can be a lesson learned for Malaysians who are living in a multi-society country. The government and the people have to be aware that unfair policy and physical violence could increase the intensity of conflict and cause bad implication in terms of peace and harmony in the country. Hence, several possible peace process initiatives of sustainable development must be introduced to transform the certain policy and further strengthen the ethnic relation in Malaysia to ensure everyone lives together in peace and harmony.

Human Rights Violations in Myanmar and the Military Junta’s Defensive Human Rights Diplomacy

Once considered the internal domain of states, of late human rights issues and concerns have been frequently raised at the international level through the use of human rights diplomacy. However, human rights diplomacy is not only confined to like-minded states who often raise issues pertaining to human rights violations abroad, but can also employed by states violating human rights as a means for its own defence. Under intense criticism for its abysmal human rights record, the Myanmar regime too has often resorted to human rights diplomacy as a strategy to deflect criticism, mainly from without. In doing so, the regime not only often invokes the notion of sovereignty, but even undertakes systematic attacks on the members of the international media and transnational advocacy groups who raise these issues. In addition and knowing that these issues have often dented its own credibility and legitimacy, the Myanmar junta even embarked on an image-building campaign, namely by enlisting the services of foreign public relations firms. In the light of these developments, this article will analyse how Myanmar’s military regime has used defensive human rights diplomacy to ward-off criticism against its poor human rights record.

Implementation of Capacity Development and Public Awareness for CTBT Verification Regime in Myanmar

Implementation of Capacity Development and Public Awareness for CTBT Verification Regime in Myanmar

Assessment of Upstream Petroleum Fiscal Regimes in Myanmar

This study aims to assess Myanmar’s upstream petroleum fiscal regimes by applying comprehensive indicators to rank the level of attractiveness of Myanmar. The indicators include government take (GT), front loading index (FLI), and composite score (CS). The decision maker’s attitude for GT and FLI were considered in CS linear weighting method in ranking the fiscal terms attractiveness. The results showed that Myanmar’s upstream petroleum fiscal regime has low attraction compared to its competing countries from the investor’s point of view, both in terms of the risk to the investor in the earlier part of the project and in terms of evaluation with or without the time value of money. Also, royalty and cost recovery were identified to have an impact on the attractiveness rank of petroleum fiscal regime in Myanmar. Therefore, Myanmar should consider improving its fiscal regimes that are not neutral—particularly, royalty, tax, profit split, and cost recovery—for a favorable investment climate.

The World is Outraged": Legitimacy in the Making of the ASEAN Human Rights Body

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) established its first human rights body in 2009: the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). Given the traditional interpretations of ASEAN norms such as sovereignty, non-interference, equality and independence, this was a curious development. In particular, the norms of sovereignty and in the internal affairs of one another have been central to the code of conduct among ASEAN member states since the organization was established in 1967, and are reiterated in ASEAN agreements and declarations. (1) The non-interference norm means that domestic governance issues, including member states' human rights records, traditionally have been off the table in official ASEAN dialogue. It also means that member governments have refrained from publicly criticizing each other's actions. Moreover, only five of the ten member states have national human rights bodies (with varying mandates and degrees of independence from their respective governments). (2) Why, then, did ASEAN create a regional human rights body? The references to human rights and the creation of a human rights body raise the question of whether traditional interpretations of ASEAN norms are under challenge. The case study also raises a more fundamental question: why and how do norms emerge and evolve among states in a regional institutional context? This puzzle has implications for the study of regional organizations. ASEAN is a particularly interesting case in this regard because of its environment of contestation. Norms are dynamic and evolve over time, and there may be tensions between norms in a regional institutional environment. Moreover, member states have diverse understandings of ASEAN norms. This article takes a consciously Constructivist approach in its recognition of ideational factors and sociological dynamics in international relations. This article traces the negotiations leading to the adoption of the ASEAN Charter, focusing on the processes through which ten member states with significantly diverse identities, interests and practices accepted references to human rights as principles and purposes of ASEAN, and agreed to create a human rights body. After a period of debate, negotiation and drafting from January to November 2007, ASEAN member states agreed to make a normative about human rights in the Charter. In this article, a statement represents rhetorical adoption of a norm in an official text, even if that norm has not been internalized. In contrast, the term is used to denote the common understanding of a norm: a standard of appropriate behaviour for actors with a given identity. (3) The article traces the processes through which ideas are initially proposed and advanced, and eventually emerge in agreed-upon text. As such, it provides a case study of the emergence and evolution of norms in a regional institutional context. This article argues that regional norms are shaped by competing perceptions of legitimacy. Legitimacy refers here to the social judgements of an entity as appropriate, proper or desirable, within a particular institutional environment. Member states' interpretations of the legitimacy of ASEAN and its norms as perceived by those outside the region--external regional legitimacy--were crucial in shaping the decision to establish a regional human rights body. In particular, the international outrage over the Myanmar regime's crackdown on protesting monks in September 2007 brought ASEAN's legitimacy concerns into sharp relief. ASEAN officials were concerned about the impact of this event, and of Myanmar's membership generally, on ASEAN's reputation and credibility. They believed that creating a human rights body was an important mechanism to improve the legitimacy of ASEAN and its norms, as perceived by extra-regional actors. Thus, member states--even those who generally resist increased interference in internal affairs, and those with poor human rights records--accepted the need to adopt references in the Charter to provide a role for ASEAN vis-a-vis human rights. …

Aung San Suu Kyi, Buddhism & The Crisis in Myanmar (Burma)

The relationship of the current military regime in Myanmar to Aung San Suu Kyi and her father are necessary for full understanding of the political situation and future changes that might take place. The events of the pre-World War II period clarify current alignments of political and economic power as do the religious and ethnic elements.

Explaining Myanmar's regime transition: the periphery is central

In 2010, Myanmar (Burma) held its first elections after 22 years of direct military rule. Few compelling explanations for this regime transition have emerged. This article critiques popular accounts and potential explanations generated by theories of authoritarian “regime breakdown” and “regime maintenance”. It returns instead to the classical literature on military intervention and withdrawal. Military regimes, when not terminated by internal factionalism or external unrest, typically liberalize once they feel they have sufficiently addressed the crises that prompted their seizure of power. This was the case in Myanmar. The military intervened for fear that political unrest and ethnic-minority separatist insurgencies would destroy Myanmar's always-fragile territorial integrity and sovereignty. Far from suddenly liberalizing in 2010, the regime sought to create a “disciplined democracy” to safeguard its preferred social and political order twice before, but was thwarted by societal opposition. Its success in 2010 stemmed from a strategy of coercive state-building and economic incorporation via “ceasefire capitalism”, which weakened and co-opted much of the opposition. Having altered the balance of forces in its favour, the regime felt sufficiently confident to impose its preferred settlement. However, the transition neither reflected total “victory” for the military nor secured a genuine or lasting peace.

A Crime against Humanity? Implications and Prospects of the Responsibility to Protect in the Wake of Cyclone Nargis

AbstractIn May 2008 Cyclone Nargis created significant international debate when the ruling military regime in Myanmar refused to allow international relief supplies and specialists into the country. The discussion that followed included invoking the principle of Responsibility to Protect as a way of forcing the regime to accept international assistance. This proposal caused sharp division amongst governments, relief agencies, journalists and citizens. The regime's shocking refusal to accept assistance constituted a crime against humanity and, as such, deserved consideration as an R2P situation. The damage which military action involves was severely underestimated by those proposing it and although the situation following Nargis clearly met the threshold criteria, permitting coercive intervention, the precautionary principles were not satisfied, thus making coercive intervention under R2P impermissible. The involvement of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) following Nargis facilitated entry of disaster assessment teams and some aid into Myanmar. In light of Myanmar's fear of intervention in its affairs, the international community should have used R2P to frame a response and worked with ASEAN from the outset to pressure the regime to respond to the disaster more effectively.

The Responsibility to Protect in Southeast Asia: Can ASEAN Reconcile Humanitarianism and Sovereignty?

This article explores how relevant the “Responsibility to Protect” (RtoP) principle is in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is usually thought of as a region that is highly resistant to external “interference” in its domestic affairs and relatively impervious to the influence of externally generated norms. The article explores the potential relevance of RtoP through an analysis of the impact of Cyclone Nargis on Myanmar. Although the military regime in Myanmar was initially resistant to external intervention, pressure from both the United Nations and especially fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) caused the regime to change its behavior. The authors argue that this marks an important shift in intra-ASEAN relations and suggests that even in Southeast Asia where sovereignty is still jealously guarded, external norms and ideas can have a decisive impact in propitious circumstances.

Regionalism in Myanmar's Foreign Policy: Past, Present and Future

This paper examines regionalism in Myanmar foreign policy mostly in the context of ASEAN-Myanmar relations and it argues that Myanmar's decision to embrace regionalism was primarily motivated by her desire to enhance state security, which also meant regime security; the threat to which was more internal than external in nature. Her subscription to regionalism was facilitated by the end of the Cold War divide, particularly in Asia. Myanmar's regional cooperation was predicated upon notions that the regional organization should be free from great power manipulation and should not be an organization for collective defense. Member states also needed to subscribe to the principle of non-interference in each others' affairs. Myanmar was particularly attracted to the grouping's modus operandi known as the ASEAN way. The ASEAN way of informal and incremental approach to co-operation based on consultation and dialogue, which constitutes the ASEAN diplomatic norm, was by and large in line with the comfort level of the military regime in Myanmar. While, initially after joining, Myanmar was strongly against the deviation from the established principle of constructive engagement, it eventually managed to accept ASEAN's enhanced interaction as a new modus operandi. It appears that, as far as the Myanmar government is concerned, issues that do not threaten national sovereignty and the nation-building process can be discussed among the member states in the spirit of ASEAN unity. Moreover, after several years of experience with cooperative security arrangements, Myanmar is now a signatory to the ASEAN Security Community; for the first time in its post-colonial history agreeing to be a member of the regional security architecture.

Balancing China in Asia

This article focuses upon India's Look East Strategy, which has been a cornerstone of the country's new foreign policy orientation after the end of the Cold War. It reflects a newfound inclination on India's part to play a pre-eminent role in the affairs of the East and the Southeast Asian region. In this great game, competition and rivalry with China has become a significant component. Although relations between India and China have improved considerably over the years, long-standing mutual suspicion and animosities continue to persist over a large number of issues. A critical review of India's Look East strategy as part of her overall foreign policy in Asia reveals that one of the important objectives behind this strategy is to play a new balancing game against China in the Southeast Asian and the Asia-Pacific region. Though China has greater economic integration with the Southeast Asian region, there is still apprehension over the strategic role it will play in the future. A close scrutiny of India's Look East strategy reveals that in spite of both India and ASEAN refusing to admit so openly, the rise of China has been one of the significant factors behind the evolution and consolidation of this policy. Look East strategy is part of a grand vision in which India gets to play a prominent role in Asia and world affairs. Lord Curzon, former British Viceroy to India was the inspiration behind this vision. (The neo-Curzonians among the Indian elite are in favour of implementing a larger strategic vision for India under the present context by taking into account the new realities). In a way, the prospect of expanding Chinese power, particularly in the Southeast Asian region, seems to propel India's Look East strategy. This is part of an overall Forward policy in Asia based on the Curzonian legacy that India has embarked upon since the culmination of the Cold War. It is quite apparent that strategic competition with China is an undeclared element of India's Look East strategy. This becomes clear if one carefully evaluates recent Indian efforts to improve relations with the military regime in Myanmar, its attempt to forge sub-regional cooperation in the form of BIMSTEC, its effort to promote the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation forum, the reasons behind its inclusion in the ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum) and in the recently concluded East Asian Summit as well as the evolving strategic linkages with countries like Japan in the Asia-Pacific region.

Dynamics and deficiencies of anti‐money laundering efforts in Myanmar

Reports that the anti‐money laundering regime in Myanmar (Burma) has many flaws; reasons are the lack of internationally accepted money laundering provisions, weak law enforcement capacity, an under‐regulated banking system, and proliferation of drug trafficking activity. Outlines laws and regulations: the 1993 Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law has been the main legislative tool against money laundering until recently and it criminalised money laundering if predicated by drug trafficking, allowing asset seizure if derived from the drugs trade. Moves onto the Control of Money Laundering Law 2002, which extends the extends the range of predicate offences, allows for imprisonment for up ten years, and sets up procedures for reporting of suspicious transactions and financial institution know‐your‐customer standards. Points out, however, that there is no bureaucratic structure to implement these provisions, no Financial Intelligence Unit, and no record of arrests or prosecutions; the ruling military junta simply wants to stay in power and allows or even encourages criminal money laundering, with lax financial accountability, weak border controls, and absence of regional and international cooperation as aggravating factors.

Thailand and Myanmar: The perils of ‘constructive engagement’

Thailand has pursued a policy of ‘constructive engagement’ towards Myanmar since Chatichai Chunawan's government, which was in office from August 1988 until February 1991. While the international community has condemned Myanmar's military leadership for human rights violations Thailand has promoted closer relations with the ruling regime in Myanmar, or the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) utilizing the idea of ‘constructive engagement’ as a justification. Chatichai gave expression to this policy of closer relations with Myanmar when he outlined a vision of Thailand as an economic centre on mainland Southeast Asia, which would embrace neighbours Laos and Cambodia as well as Myanmar. The term ‘constructive engagement’ was used subsequently to characterize this policy when it came under international criticism. According to successive Thai governments the benefits of ‘constructive engagement’ included enhanced border security and increased trade since, as it was argued, Thailand could not afford to coexist with a hostile neighbour. This policy, however, has reached its limits as the costs are likely to outweigh the benefits in a way that will be explored in this article.

The ASEAN Regional Forum: The Spirit of Constructive Engagement

The ASEAN states have taken a central role in an East Asian security regime. Rather than focus on problem-solving or negotia tions, the ASEAN Regional Forum (AJRFJ stands as a consultative process to further the benefits of constructive engagement: eco nomic development and stability. Its formation recalls ASEAN's own cautious concern for building consensus and bilateral under standings in preparation for a multilateral endeavour. ASEAN-like, states are called upon to practice self-restraint, by renouncing force and interference in other states' domestic affairs. Moreover, to achieve regional stability through a balance of great powers, the ASEAN states have often facilitated inclusion of all through an informal diplomacy that limits obligations and protocol The nations of post-Cold War Asia-Pacific have launched a regional secur ity forum that faces concerns like the consolidation of Cambodia, the governance of the South China Sea, the nuclear challenge from North Korea, and the increases in arms purchases by Asian states, as well as the human rights policies of the regime in Myanmar. This ASEAN Re gional Forum (ARF) will be part of a three-phase process that begins with the annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM). ASEAN members have been meeting with Dialogue Partners (Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the United States) in Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC). Now there will be the ARF, made up of the ASEAN members, the Dialogue Partners, and foreign ministers from China, Russia, Vietnam, Laos, and Papua New Guinea. The motivation underlying this consultation is the common fear of instability: 'The whole

Liberalization in Myanmar: How Real Are the Changes?

The State Law and Order Restoration Council regime in Myanmar has over the post one and a half years undertaken aspects of political liberalization that have been both cosmetic and sub stantive in nature. Important continuities, such as direct military authority over civilian affairs, are, however, still apparent. This article argues that both the changes and continuities in Myanmar have not altered the basic nature of its body politic. In fact, the changes that have occurred since early 1992, have largely been tactical rather than strategic in nature, and have only had the effect of placing into sharper relief the inherent tensions and contradictions in the society as a whole.