Foreign missions left back in Myanmar's old capital

Asia
Foreign missions left back in Myanmar's old capital
By Peter Janssen, Mar 31, 2007 - 8:12:46 AM

Yangon, March 31 - At the end of August, the US embassy will move to its new premises in Yangon, a massive building on the edge of Inya Lake that happens to be walking distance from the compound of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Permission to shift to its new site came a day before Myanmar's military rulers officially announced plans to move the capital to Pyinmana, a remote area 350 km north of here, that now goes by the name of Naypyitaw, or Royal Capital.

Despite the announcement, the US has gone ahead with its over $65 million investment.

Diplomatic sources in Yangon - there are no diplomatic sources in Naypyitaw as of yet - said the main reason for the US move was security. The old embassy site on Merchant Street, a veritable fortress with barbed wire fences and cement-filled oil drums around it, was deemed one of the US's least secure missions in Asia.

It has been a target of frequent pro-government demonstrations. The US has been a vocal critic of Myanmar's ruling junta and one of the staunches supporters of Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy -, which won the 1990 general election but has been blocked from power since.

Not everyone, even among opponents of the military, appreciates the US decision to build a massive new embassy in a city that is no longer Myanmar's capital.

'I would just say they were pretty wrong in reading the future of this country; they thought the Naypyitaw project wouldn't come true,' said Win Naing, who labels himself an 'independent politician'.

Win Naing is trying to carve out a position for himself as a neutral force between the junta and NLD, who have been deadlocked in their opposition for the past 17 years.

He faults the US for failing to support other democratic forces that are emerging in Myanmar in the shadow of Suu Kyi, the only opposition leader who enjoys international recognition.

'By recognising NLD and NLD alone and refusing to recognise any other democratic forces, the US is making NLD arrogant,' said Win Naing.

While Suu Kyi remains a powerful symbol for Myanmar's pro-democracy struggle, her party has suffered from its virtual isolation from their charismatic leader since her arrest in May 2003. She has been placed under house arrest in her family compound.

Other groups have shown much more initiative in staging passive protests against the regime over the past two years while the NLD has disappeared from the scene, perhaps biding its time until an anticipated election in the distant future.

And while the US has remained rigid in its support for NLD, other countries have adopted a more exploratory approach to the ruling junta, headed by Senior General Than Shwe, whose brainwave it was to move the capital to Naypyitaw.

'We have followed the same policy towards Myanmar for the past 16 years,' said a European diplomat. 'We have to realise that while our intentions were good, we have not achieved them.'

One sign of the times is that the 3D project, a $100 million programme to help Myanmar combat malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, will officially kick off next week, replacing the similarly motivated Global Fund that ended in 2006 largely due to US political opposition to it.

The EU primarily backs the 3D-programme, with strong bilateral support from Australia and Britain.

Ironically, such initiatives on the humanitarian and diplomatic fronts have now been impeded by the junta's decision to shift the capital to Naypyitaw.

'When everyone was in Yangon it was already difficult making contact, now the procedural obstacles have increased,' said one western diplomat. 'You can't carry out projects like this.'

The sudden move was even more of a slap in the face for Myanmar's fellow members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations -, which received no prior warning.

Singapore was reportedly 'furious' with the move since it had already started construction on a new embassy compound in Yangon.

To date, the Myanmar government has yet to officially invite any embassies to shift to the new capital, although it has designated a plot of 'scrub land' for future missions, where the diplomats will also be forced to live.

All rights reserved by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited ( www.rxpgnews.com )