Democracy on the Brink
The impact of crisis on Burma’s democratic journey
In 2015, I served as an international observer during Burma’s national elections. The night of Nov. 8, 2015, after all the ballots had been cast, I remember huddling around laptops in the hotel lobby with other observers, as we eagerly watched the results come in.
I couldn’t believe a free and fair election was actually happening. All day, I had been waiting for an interruption. We had seen fits and starts of democracy in Burma for a number of years, but nothing as promising as the voting that had taken place earlier that day.
As the vote count slowly grew, pointing to a supermajority for the National League for Democracy, the internet service started to slow, and then flicker in and out.
“This is it,” I thought. “This is the interference we were all waiting for.”
The internet went out. My heart plummeted: Another sham election.
Yet, the Election Commission kept counting votes.
We were back online a few minutes later, and all the observers in the lobby let out a collective sigh of relief. The internet outage wasn’t an attempt to prevent a free and fair election. It was just a glitch in the hotel’s connection.
Today, the crises in and around Burma are much more than a glitch, I’m sorry to say. What is happening in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states is stunting the hope and potential of Burma’s newfound democracy. Beyond an enormous toll of human suffering, this crisis will prevent Burma from reaching the promise of the 2015 elections, and the future that its people — of every background, creed and ethnicity — so richly deserve.
Our experience tells us that one election does not make a democracy. One election is simply a milestone in the journey to a vibrant, real democratic society. These crises tell us that Burma has yet to realize the promise of democratic governance and equal opportunity.
America believes in the democratic potential of Burma, as do many of its people. We believe in human dignity, in the innate desire of every person, every community, and every country to craft and lead its own bright future. Because this spirit burns bright in the heart of Americans, we want to assist the people of Burma on the path to freedom and self-reliance.
The people in Burma will only see their dreams met if civil-society organizations are strong, active and loud. The Burmese people must hold their government accountable. They must shine lights in dark places, push back against political corruption and denounce those who would divert public funds from the people they should serve.
They must give hope to this generation of activists, who are not satisfied with just a single election, but who continue to push for economic opportunity, democratic values and peace throughout their beautiful country.
The internet can help sustain that hope. The flickering internet connection I remember from my last trip has now become the way Burmese people routinely communicate.
When I returned to Burma in May of this year, I learned that 27 million of the 60 million people in the country have a Facebook account; 90 percent of Facebook users connect on their mobile phones, and for 90 percent, Facebook is the only site they ever visit.
Young technology entrepreneurs and students showed me messages of hate that unknown instigators had spread over the internet in Burmese-language postings. The access to the internet the Burmese now enjoy can inflame the current problems in the country, or be part of the solution to bring people together. The democratic potential of Burma might depend, in part, on the answer to that challenge.
About the Author
Mark Green is the Administrator of USAID. Follow him @USAIDMarkGreen. Our development efforts advance American interests by promoting global security, prosperity and self-reliance.
