EDITORIAL – Myanmar protests deserve attention

If the Myanmar government had its way, we’d have no idea of the atrocities that occurred… If the Myanmar government had its way, we’d have no idea of the atrocities that occurred there this week, when members of the country’s military junta crashed a peaceful pro-democracy demonstration, killing at least nine Buddhist monks.

According to The New York Times, the country’s ruling body has shut down access to the Internet across the country, and police were reported to be searching citizens for the possession of handheld cameras or recording devices – in an attempt to prevent its own citizens from discovering the freedoms held in other parts of the world and, of course, from preventing the rest of the world from discovering the lack of freedoms that exist in Myanmar.

So, if the thousands of monks who organized the demonstration had an objective, it was simple: Spread the word.

That’s because, prior to the demonstrations, which were organized and attended by more than 100,000 monks, few media outlets and foreign leaders were paying attention to the government’s actions in Myanmar (also known as Burma).

The country’s military junta, which has been in rule for 19 years, is known for its inhumane actions against its citizens. Many human rights agencies have claimed that the regime often forces its citizens (including children) into labor and allows a human trafficking market. The government also has a history of responding violently to protesters, most famously opening fire at a crowd of demonstrators in 1988.

Currently, the United States and many other countries have cut off trade with Myanmar, with one major exception: China. The Chinese government, Myanmar’s chief trading partner, has refused to follow the example set by governing bodies around the world in using an embargo as leverage to pressure the Myanmar government from continuing its oppressive rule.

U.N. envoys have also been sent to the country in hopes of promoting democracy, but the attempts have been largely unsuccessful.

Myanmar’s refusal to negotiate with U.N. envoys puts foreign diplomats and world leaders in a difficult position: How do we put a check on this government, which has the likelihood of surviving and prospering as long as foreign governments like China continue to support it economically?

Beside cutting of trade, the only way to put foreign pressure on Myanmar’s government is military intervention – an action that foreign governments, particularly that of the United States, which is, as we all know, embroiled in a war of other sorts – should be hesitant to take.

While sending U.S. troops directly to Myanmar might not be the proper way to handle the situation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the U.S. doesn’t have a role to play in Myanmar. Our fearless leader has eloquently professed that we are the world’s “freedom spreaders” oh-so-many times, so how can we look at the atrocities in Myanmar and turn a blind eye?

While Iraq might have taught us that unilaterally intervening in a foreign government – even one that is led by a despicable dictator – is the wrong way to go, it has also taught us the importance of utilizing the support of the U.N. to achieve international goals.

U.N. envoys haven’t been successful in Myanmar, but an increase in the amount of U.N. peacekeepers might help to quell the violence. It is also important that we put pressure on China, a country that boasts itself as a world leader, and then uses its powerful trading position to support the economies of authoritarian governments like that of Myanmar and Sudan.