How to Save Myanmar

For the past 17 years, the generals who massacred thousands of demonstrators in Myanmar have doggedly held onto power, and neither sanctions from the West nor incentives from the East have convinced them to make any concessions towards democratic reform. This year, Myanmar is again in the spotlight as it takes chairmanship of ASEAN. In this article, The Economist reminds readers of Myanmar’s importance as a destabilizing force in the region: “it cheerfully exports drugs, refugees and disease to its neighbors and beyond.” The article advises Asian and Western countries to discard their current inconsistent approach, which “has got them precisely nowhere over the past 15 years,” and formulate a more coherent plan that combines uniform sanctions with rewards for positive steps. Even a perfect plan, however, may prove unsuccessful if observers are correct: Myanmar’s isolationist generals “are indifferent to both carrots and sticks.” – YaleGlobal