The Obama administration’s announcement that it is suspending sanctions on Myanmar, allowing American companies to invest in the formerly rogue nation, has received praise from the business community and skepticism from human rights groups.
\nUnder Myamnar’s current president Thein Sein, the country once considered one of the world’s most isolated, has undergone remarkable progress toward democracy. In April it held its first parliamentary elections in more than 20 years. Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy activist who spent decades under house arrest, was elected to parliament. As a result of the reforms, the United States is appointing its first ambassador, Derek Mitchell, to the country in more than two decades, along with easing some of the sanctions.
\nAfter meeting with the foreign minister of Myanmar, which the administration refers to as Burma, Secretary Clinton told reporters that the U.S. is suspending sanctions, but not lifting them all together. \u201cWe will be keeping relevant laws on the books as an insurance policy,\u201d said Clinton. \u201cBut our goal and our commitment is to move as rapidly as we can to expand business and investment opportunities.\u201d Among the sectors considered most opportune for investment are agricultural, minerals, and oil and gas.
\n Clinton stressed that the emphasis will be on responsible investment, and that U.S. companies will be held to \u201cbest practice\u201d standards, representing transparency and respect for worker’s rights. Senior administration officials admit that those standards are still being hashed out, and will not be legally enforceable by U.S. law.
\nHuman rights groups complain that it’s still too early to ease sanctions, and that the U.S. needed to establish a legally-binding conduct before the announcement. Activists express concern particularly about the oil and gas sector, which is owned and operated by some of the country’s top military leaders.
\n\u201cThis is a big problem,\u201d John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, told ABC News. \u201cThere are certain activities that are not going to benefit reform and not going to benefit Burmese citizens; that will just benefit the wealthiest, most powerful.\u201d
\nThe State Department maintains that individual \u201cspoilers\u201d and \u201cbad actors\u201d who are found to be prohibiting democratic reforms will still be sanctioned, but in a recent joint letter to President Barack Obama, Human Rights Watch and other organizations noted that the current U.S. Treasury Department list of Special Designated Nationals, individuals and companies implicated in human rights abuses in Burma, had not been updated since 2009.
\n\u201cFolks gotta’ remember this is \u2026 a country that has no independent judiciary system,\u201d said Sifton. Myanmar tied with Afghanistan as the second most corrupt country in the world last year, according to the corruption-tracking group Transparency International. \u201cThe corruption is rampant,\u201d said Sifton. \u201cThe revenue is completely off the books.\u201d
\nHuman rights groups aren’t opposed to easing some restrictions as a way to help the country continue to progress, but are concerned that, like many countries without strong governance, a boom in oil investment could end up being more of a resource curse for the impoverished nation than a help.
\n\u201cThere are things that can be done that don’t directly benefit the military,\u201d said Sifton. \u201cInvest in agriculture, trading and financial services. But allowing in oil and gas companies is not one of those things.\u201d
\nAmerican businesses have already expressed interest in doing business in the Asian country, say administration officials. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Trade Council and the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council issued a joint statement praising the administration’s decision. The groups, whose membership includes some of America’s biggest oil and gas companies such as Exxon, said they support the opening of all of Myanmar’s economic sectors. Australia, the European Union and Canada have all made similar decisions regarding lifting sanctions. China also has a long history of trade with the country, even before the reforms took place.
\n\u201cA situation where American companies are allowed to invest in certain sectors while excluding others will not prevent those sectors from being developed in Myanmar,\u201d the statement read. \u201cIt will simply ensure that our competitors fill the void, as they are already doing, and that jobs which could be given to American workers will go elsewhere.\u201d
\nAung San Suu Kyi says the United States is right to suspend the harsh restrictions against her country, but warns that caution is needed.
\n\u201cThis is a possible first step,\u201d said Aung San Suu Kyi via Skype at the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday. \u201dI sometimes feel that people are too optimistic about the scene in Burma. You have to remember that the democratization process is not irreversible.\u201d<\/p>\n
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