MYANMAR DIGS ITSELF A BIG HOLE

Source : Bangkok Post

Myanmar may not even be aware of it, but it is digging its way into a huge diplomatic hole over the recent communal riots in the country's western region.

Over the past few weeks, the Nay Pyi Taw government has turned progressively secretive, censorious and combative over the June riots and continuing unrest in Rakhine state. In short, it is taking entirely the wrong direction over the violence.

The riots in the region formerly known as Arakan peaked in June. Truthful reports on casualties and damage are as difficult to come by as details of the fighting and how the Myanmar authorities responded. However, available reports indicate that several hundred people died or were maimed, the number of buildings destroyed was more than 1,000, and the army and police behaved atrociously.

Myanmar's current problem, apart from trying to calm Rakhine state, is how to deal with international concern and anger.

The instinctive reaction of the Myanmar authorities is still to try to clam up and ignore the world's concern.

This will not do, not from a country demanding attention as a newly emerging democracy trying to throw off the shackles of a 50-year military dictatorship.

Everything that Myanmar has done since the riots has been wrong. Its refusal to open the region to objective reporters and its own media caused massive anti-government press from virtually everywhere outside its borders. Human rights groups have "demanded" _ a favourite word _ impartial reporting.

The result was that Myanmar, almost unbelievably, cracked down on the press again. Last week, the government banned two newspapers for refusing to submit stories to official censors. On Saturday, Myanmar reporters staged a public demonstration to demand an end to the censorship system.

Worldwide, members of the free press automatically sympathised with the Myanmar media who were brave enough to defy the system. The United Nations' Special Rapporteur for Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, suggested the country hold a truth commission to try to discover the causes and effects of the riots, and come up with ways to prevent more communal battles.

Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin criticised the UN official for daring to suggest that the army and police might have used excessive force, specifically against the Rohingya Muslims of Rakhine.

And that extremely unthoughtful outburst caught the attention of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The OIC proposed sending a mission to Myanmar to look into the massacres of Rohingya by the Buddhist majority. That sort of inflammatory language is certain to result in the OIC rejecting such a proposal, but it is a lose-lose situation for Nay Pyi Taw. In addition to being a powerful political group, the OIC comprises Asean partners Indonesia and Malaysia. Thailand is an OIC observer.

Myanmar has only a couple of options of where to go next, neither of them attractive. It can try to continue to stonewall and earn the sort of criticism that was heaped on the country while it was run by army juntas.

It can release information and open the Rakhine area to objective observers, which will almost certainly result in even more criticism of its treatment of the Rohingya, a religious minority whose members are denied citizenship in their own country.

However, it would be a mistake for Myanmar and cause strong repercussions in Asean if the country takes the repressive road.