ASSK, One Year On

Many commentators last month noted the one-year anniversary of Aung San Suu Kyi’s ascension to the country’s top job. She continues to enjoy nearly complete admiration from the majority of people.

Yet in spite of that good will, Myanmar has not become any easier to govern than it was a year ago. In fact, this government is arguably still military-led. By order of the constitution, the most important ministries remain controlled by the generals, who also have the right to appoint 25% of parliament and to decide their own budget.

Those same generals maybe even prefer the current arrangement to when they held all of the cards. Now, they’re allowed to pull most of the strings economically and militarily, while ASSK and her party get to struggle with a long list of political headaches and then take the blame when they turn out to be unsolvable.

Ethnic groups, for example, seem no closer to winning any concessions on the issues they consider most important: revenue sharing, some degree of political autonomy, and local language promotion. The day when peace accords get signed appears not to be any closer than it was a year ago.

Chinese influence in Myanmar has only grown during the year that ASSK has been in office, while simultaneously the international community’s interest in democracy promotion here has diminished during that same time.

No wonder, then, that The Lady’s recent speeches have sounded less responsive to the needs of the people than her campaign rhetoric did. She now urges communities and individuals to find "courage" and "self-confidence." As if the people of Myanmar haven't been self-reliant enough during the many years of military-led governments.

To give her the benefit of the doubt, it would be nice to think that ASSK and the NLD will spend the next four years working with civil society to expand opportunities for the country's poorest, least educated, and least powerful people. 

Yet polls (no telling how scientific or trustworthy) suggest that a growing number of citizens believe Myanmar is headed in the wrong direction. The NLD may be starting to squander the body politic's trust. High hopes for civilian leadership can't last if its actions remind people too much of the previous military government. Stay tuned.