I was taught to avoid the name Myanmar, the creation of SLORC, the junta that has ruled the country for two decades. Here we face a classic dilemma: what can democratic states do when corrupt and evil rulers kill nonviolent partisans of democracy? Aung San Suu Kyi says to use sanctions, but manifestly they do not work, since passing up economic opportunities means nothing when there are other states (i.e., China) quite prepared to overlook Shwe & Co.'s filthy record of oppression, ethnic cleansing, etc. As long as Burma has an army of 400,000 ignorant butchers, it hardly matters that 400,000 brave and well organized monks are willing to march: nothing will come of it. In the absence of a global consensus (such a thing will never exist), and as long as France, China, the United States and others facilitate oppression by participating wholeheartedly in the global sale of small arms, I believe that there is only one alternative to scolding and waiting. I think it a mistake to refuse to have full diplomatic and economic relations with other states, because the place where we can make a difference is through trade, though economic incentives. If we've already blockaded a harbor, threatening a bigger blockade sounds pretty thin. Only when we're buying lots of your oil and gas and teak do you want to take our call in the middle of a very dark night.
