Think tank urges overhaul of Myanmar sanctions

BANGKOK — Two decades of Western sanctions against Myanmar have failed to achieve their goal and need to be urgently overhauled, an influential international think tank has said.

Myanmar's first election in 20 years and move to a new political system, albeit one dominated by the military, have provided a rare chance to encourage greater openness and reform, according to the International Crisis Group.


"But this opportunity can only be seized if the West changes its failed policies of sanctions and isolation," the Brussels-based group said in a report, describing the punitive measures as "highly counterproductive".

"Myanmar is in dire need of social, economic and political reforms," it said.

A new approach could also signal to Myanmar's authoritarian leaders that better relations with the West are possible if they pursue political reform, the ICG added.

It called for a boost to aid money for the impoverished country along with an end to broad economic sanctions -- such as a US ban on imports from Myanmar -- as well as restrictions on development assistance.

The release of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in November after the elections has reignited debate over the sanctions, enforced notably by the United States and the EU in response to human rights abuses.

Suu Kyi's party in February appealed for talks with the West about sanctions, but suggested the steps were not hurting the economy and said any changes should be linked to an improvement in human rights.

Her party has no voice in a newly opened parliament dominated by the military and its proxies. It was disbanded for opting to boycott the November vote because the rules seemed designed to bar Suu Kyi from participating.

Supporters of the trade and financial sanctions say they are the only way to pressure the military rulers of Myanmar, where there are about 2,200 political prisoners behind bars.

Despite the restrictions on Western businesses, Asian companies, especially from China, India, Thailand and South Korea, have overlooked the political situation and human rights abuses to invest in resource-rich Myanmar.

These projects "will transform the economic landscape in Myanmar, and will give its neighbours a major stake in the country's political stability", the ICG said.

"But they will likely do so at significant social and environmental cost; and by further unbalancing external relations, they could place serious constraints on how Myanmar can position itself diplomatically in the future."

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