A New Government for Burma

Exiled democrats are planning a better future

By SEIN WIN | From today's Wall Street Journal Asia

DUBLIN

The Burmese junta's disgraceful nonresponse to Cyclone Nargis last year called international attention to the direct human consequences of repressive rule in the Southeast Asian country. Since then, Burma's economic plight has only worsened. It is time for the political opposition abroad to present a broader, more coherent alternative for the Burmese people.

To this end, the legitimately elected representatives of the people of Burma -- the Members of Parliament from the 1990 elections -- are meeting in Dublin over the next few days to elect a new government-in-exile. The convention delegates are motivated by a sense that change in the culture of Burma's exiled opposition is needed. All are aware that the plight of Burma's people can no longer be tolerated; the status quo cannot be continued.

This move is a huge step forward for the multiethnic, multicultural Burmese people, who have never enjoyed a government that gave all groups an equal voice. A new government-in-exile should also provide comfort to Burma's neighbors, who worry about civil unrest when the junta falls.

We sketched out our core beliefs in this month's edition of the Far Eastern Economic Review, a sister publication of this newspaper. In Dublin, we call for an inclusive process that will lead to an interim constitution, taking into account the interests of all stakeholders in Burma. We also call for the release of all political prisoners; for the lifting of restrictions on liberties such as free speech and free association; and for an agreement on a realistic timetable for free and fair elections in Burma.

We have a vision of a nation-building process for Burma that will create a federal union with an appropriate relationship between the central government and the states and regions, ensuring, for example, the equitable distribution of revenue from natural resources. We support free trade.

We will also be good regional and global citizens. Our Asian partners need to become involved in solving Burma's myriad problems by urgently and effectively pushing for increased dialogue and national reconciliation. We look to the United Nations to forge a path by which such a dialogue can take place.

We call on the U.N. Secretary-General to conduct a goals-oriented tour of Burma as soon as the Burmese generals are prepared to compromise. We suggest enacting a regional strategy to democratize Burma perhaps through the Association of South East Asian Nations, overseen by the United Nations.

Burma desperately needs a liberal, open regime. Even before the global economic crisis landed, the Burmese economy was being run into the ground by the current regime's mismanagement and corruption.

Now, the global financial crisis is making a bad situation even worse. Natural gas revenues -- which account for around 40% of Burma's total export income -- fell 28.5% in the first nine months of 2008, compared to the same period last year. Tourism has slowed to a trickle. Unemployment is spiking.

This isn't just a problem for our country, but for our neighbors, too. Burma is Asia's second largest opium producer -- behind Afghanistan -- and a major exporter of synthetic drugs such as amphetamines. Our refugees -- who are fleeing in droves -- are carrying HIV, drug-resistant tuberculosis and malaria abroad. Today, over 3.5 million Burmese are displaced with some 10% of the population currently living overseas, one of the highest proportions in the world.

Our country needs major economic and social reforms that only a government with popular support can deliver. Yet the national elections scheduled for 2010 will be a parody of democracy. The tricks and thuggery of the military were instrumental in the passage of the 2008 constitution that legitimizes military rule in Burma. The same constitution, which mandates that 75% of the parliament will be civilian -- with the remainder reserved for the military -- will also ensure a rigged outcome of the elections in 2010.

The nominally civilian Union Solidarity and Development Association and the Swan-ah-Shin -- pseudo-independent political groups backed by the government -- are already working behind the scenes to fill the civilian seats with military lackeys. The resulting government will have little inclination to address the political or economic concerns of the Burmese people.

The Burmese government-in-exile has already initiated steps to enable clusters of Burmese, as well as foreign experts in political, economic, and other fields, to work on a blueprint for a transition to democracy in Burma. This presents better, clearer, options for the Burmese people. The interests of the military are included in this blueprint as well. We do not want the military to be what stands in the way of Burma's progress.

We look forward to working together in an inclusive new government to show that Burma can have a better future for its people. And when we return home, we'll show the international community what Burma should be: engaged abroad, prosperous and free.

Sein Win is prime minister of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, based in Washington D.C., and a delegate to the Dublin convention.