For more information on Dr Abbott's work and research interests, visit his profile page.

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Transcript

Q: I’m here today with Dr Jason Abbott, Lecturer in Politics at the University of Surrey. Jason, one of your areas of expertise is Burma, and of course, Burma is in the news at the moment with the arrest and ongoing trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, pro-democracy leader. Could you tell us first of all what the circumstances are behind the arrest and the ongoing trial?

00.22

Jason: Yes, about two weeks ago, John Yettaw, an American tourist and Vietnam War veteran extraordinarily swam across Lake Inya to her house where she’s been under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years. This is despite the fact that she is supposed to be imprisoned by the regime and cordoned off from sight as a whole. Yettaw managed to get across the lake evading arrest and broke into her house and then refused to leave and was present there for about 2 days before he tried to swim back across and was then arrested. As a result of that extraordinary incident, the regime has arrested her, imprisoned her and is now trying her, for breaking the terms of her house arrest. So we have the curious situation where she’s been a victim of a crime - since the American was an intruder in her house - but she is being tried for breaking the terms of the house arrest.

1.32

Q: Ok, and what are the motives of the Burmese military government in making this arrest and putting Aung San Suu Kyi on trial now?

1.41

Jason: Well, clearly they have a political motive and they have been looking for an excuse to do this for quite some time. She is currently under house arrest but in Burmese law that period is supposed come to an end very shortly. Next year the Burmese regime is holding an election, albeit under a very uneven and unfair constitution that’s weighted against the opposition. But nevertheless they’re always very anxious about what role she might play in galvanising opposition to the regime. This hands them an excuse to put her out of the political scene for at least the next 5 years and certainly beyond the next election.

2.31

Q: Ok and how has the international community responded to these events?

2.36

Jason: Well we’ve seen a chorus of condemnation from most Western governments, The British Prime Minister, the President of the EU, the UN Secretary General and the State Department in America. They’ve all condemned this and called for her immediate release. Where there’s been silence has been among some of her neighbours, there’s been less condemnation from Thailand, Burma’s second largest trading partner. From China there’s been no comment about this arrest and really it is to the Asian neighbours of Burma that the international community is looking for a push to influence the regime and to affect change within that country.

3.31

Q: And in your opinion is there anything more the international community can do to bring pressure on the Burmese military regime?

3.38

Jason: Absolutely. There’s been a lot of criticism over the years about the effectiveness of sanctions and although some sanctions have been in place in Burma for the last 20 years, there has not been a comprehensive sanctions regime. It’s only in 2003 that the Americans banned all new investments in Burma and in 2007 the EU followed with sanctions against the gem and timber industries. As a result there is still quite a lot of mismatch in the sanctions between countries and so there are 3 things that the international community could do on that front. First of all, they could tighten the existing sanctions regime that’s in place. Secondly, they could coordinate the national and regional responses more effectively and thirdly they could target the sanctions specifically and more effectively against leading members of the junta - particularly freezing assets that are owned by companies and cronies close to the leading members of the regime. Finally, in recognition of China’s growing influence both in the region and in international politics more widely, concerted attempts are being made both openly and in private to use whatever powers of persuasion Beijing might have to influence events in Burma as well.

5.08

Q: Well Jason, thank you very much. It’s been very informative and hopefully we’ll catch up again soon, regarding these ongoing events.

5.17

Jason: Thank you.