Wednesday Morning News: Spotlight on Burma

The big news this morning is the on-going humanitarian disaster in Burma, a.k.a. Myanmar, following the cyclone that hit the country on Saturday—and a second cyclone could be on the way. The military junta continues to restrict access to affected areas, erecting additional roadblocks and other controls that are preventing the delivery of international aid. The president of Thailand attempted to convince the government to ease the restrictions, but the leader of the junta was adamant that the country did not need outside assistance. The military puts the death toll at 34,000, but international estimates speculation that it is as high as 100,000. So far, only 34 of 100 visa requests have been approved for foreign relief efforts, and only large-scale aid delivery has not been allowed.

The junta’s refusal to allow aid to the disaster victims is raising many questions in the international human rights and foreign policy communities regarding the “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine (R2P) and the definition of crimes against humanity. Guest columnist Robert Kaplan addresses the potential for a military humanitarian invasion, led by the U.S., in a New York Times op-ed. He argues that such an operation is militarily feasible, given that significant American forces are already in Thailand for a multinational exercise, but describes a political situation that on the one hand positions the West and China/Asia against one another, and on the other plays off of Asian political and economic insecurities over the increasingly brutal dictatorship in Burma. Kaplan also notes that, should such an invasion occur, the international community would be responsible for the aftermath—the likely fall of the junta and the hopeful installation of democracy and resolution of long-standing ethnic divisions.

The idea of a military invasion for humanitarian purposes, and all of the consequences and implications, is quite a heavy topic—one that I need to think about further. Check back soon-ish…hopefully I’ll have time for a more in-depth post.