Illustration: Liu Rui
Recently Southern People Weekly published an interview with Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's opposition leader, dubbing her the most beautiful woman in Asia. The public can judge this for itself. But what she told the magazine didn't sound so beautiful, because beauty should always be associated with truth.
According to Suu Kyi, the reason why Myanmar doesn't have a middle class is cronyism and has nothing to do with sanctions. Indeed, cronyism is a traditional cause of Myanmar's problems.
But Suu Kyi using it to absolve the West of the responsibility for sanctions is completely wrong. The reality is that the Western sanctions have intensified cronyism rather than weakening it. More than 20 years of Western sanctions against Myanmar have created more tycoons, resulting in the poor becoming poorer and the rich becoming richer.
Suu Kyi also mentioned an IMF report, saying the report didn't say anything about sanctions when analyzing Myanmar's economic problems. What she meant is that the reason for Myanmar's economic downturn was purely its military junta, not sanctions, which is also misleading.
Anyone who has had a chance to speak to a Myanmar national knows how unreliable the IMF report is. A Myanmar businessman once told me that the report was compiled according to government statistics, which don't accord with the real situation there.
Many small factories and companies have ways to evade taxes, so the real statistics can't be truly reflected in these figures. It seems that sanctions don't have a great influence on the economy, but the truth is just the contrary.
In 2003, there were 300 to 400 clothing and shoe factories in Myanmar, many dependent on foreign orders. Due to sanctions, almost all of these factories shut down.
Many workers went to Thailand and Malaysia for work. Some worked as housekeepers and others entered the sex industry. Some Thai journalists interviewed Myanmese child laborers, and found they were only paid in food, not money.
Worse, the Western sanctions cut off international assistance to Myanmar. According to UN statistics, due to the Western sanctions, the international assistance Myanmar gets is the lowest among the world's poorest countries. The average fund is only $4 per person, while that in other poorest country is $42.30. Even aid for the AIDS-infected population is restricted. If sanctions are not the culprit, they are at least an accomplice. The Myanmese don't like dictatorship, but they also don't like sanctions.
Suu Kyi should bear in mind that the 20 years of sanctions have meant the breakdown in Myanmar's manufacturing industry, labor market and technology levels. After manufacturing investors have chosen Thailand, Malaysia or other ASEAN countries, they will hardly move their business to Myanmar, unless technologies in Myanmar can catch up. But this takes time.
Some Western analysts said that Myanmar has abundant energy, mining and tourist resources. As long as the West lifts sanctions, Myanmar's economy will develop rapidly. But Myanmar's painful experience shows us that without an economy based on manufacturing, it's difficult to form a large middle class.
Dictatorship deprives poor people of development, and so do sanctions. The West is still maintaining sanctions. Although these pushed forward reform of the Myanmar government, millions of people there have paid a grievous cost.
Suu Kyi has played an important role in advocating democracy in Myanmar, but this doesn't mean she never acts as a politician. In fact, just as she supported the West imposing sanctions, the West is also complying with her when it comes to lifting those sanctions.
The author is a senior editor with the People's Daily. dinggang@globaltimes.com.cn