Burmese Junta’s Remedy: Crackdown

Despite international condemnation led by the United States, the ruling generals of Myanmar are continuing to crack down on supporters of the democratic opposition. The crackdown began last week when the opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was attacked and arrested, prompting US President Bush to back a bill in Congress to enforce sanctions on Myanmar and cut off imports. The US protest of the military junta’s brutality and suppression of democracy was echoed by many other Western countries and by the UN. To ward off the potentially crippling effects of Western sanctions, the export dependent Myanmar is turning to other Southeast Asian countries as well as to India and China for support in what one Chinese ambassador termed an “internal political affair.” – YaleGlobal