Myanmar: Economic Growth in the Shadow of Political Constraints

Summary

For Myanmar, 1996 was a year in which constraints to the managed political transition from a one-party “socialist” rule to a “multi-party democracy” became apparent in the domestic political scene, while opportunities for closer regional co-operation appeared to have been successfully exploited by the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). It turned out that the persistant political opposition continued to be a thorny problem for the military government. On the other hand, the economy enjoyed substantial growth with one of the highest annual inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), in terms of approved amounts, since the Foreign Investment Law came into force in late 1988.

Politics of Managed Transition

The SLORC has enunciated four political objectives which have been widely publicized in the state-controlled media. They are defined as:

1. stability of the state, community peace and tranquillity, prevalence of law and order;

2. national reconsolidation;

3. emergence of a new enduring state constitution;

4. building of a new modern developed nation in accordance with the new state constitution.

The realization of the fourth objective appears to have been premised upon the attainment of the first three goals. Incidents which were perceived by the military authorities as not only threatening to their agenda for political transition but also as hindering the progress towards these objectives have elicited a strong response from the government.

Since her release from house arrest in July 1995, Myanmar's foremost dissident Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been conducting weekend political assemblies in front of her residence in which she delivered speeches covering wide-ranging issues. Almost single-handedly assuming control of the National League for Democracy (NLD) she was giving many interviews to the Western print and broadcast media while occasionally meeting sympathetic foreign officials and envoys. Almost all her interviews and speeches were disseminated quickly throughout the world via Internet by exile groups and human right activists.