Myanmar Spring Chronicle – September 10 Scene
(MoeMaKa) September 11, 2024
Foreign Interference and Political Tide in Myanmar
Throughout modern Myanmar’s political history, there has been a tendency for the public and some politicians to hope for foreign intervention whenever they want to topple an oppressive military regime. During the suppression of the 1988 uprising, people who couldn’t endure the military’s brutal crackdowns might remember the hopes expressed for intervention by a powerful foreign nation.
At that time, some political and military factions also spread rumors as part of their propaganda, claiming foreign intervention was imminent. For instance, there were rumors of weapons arriving at the border. In an era when communication technology and access to foreign media were not as fast or widespread, such rumors were believed by many as true.
From the 1960s to the 1980s, the Cold War was at its peak, and the United States was engaged in the Vietnam War. The West, particularly the U.S., supported military coups and authoritarian regimes worldwide to prevent the spread of communism in regions like East Asia, Latin America, and other parts of the globe. Given these historical examples of powerful foreign nations intervening to overthrow governments, it wasn’t surprising that many in Myanmar hoped for similar outcomes.
However, for Myanmar, which was a British colony for over a century and briefly under the fascist Japanese military, it has never been a nation whose political leaders would openly welcome foreign intervention. After independence, left-wing factions accused the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL) of negotiating independence, claiming it wasn’t true freedom. As a result, AFPFL leaders didn’t align closely with capitalist Western nations. Myanmar distanced itself from capitalist and socialist-communist factions, instead advocating for non-alignment. This approach was affirmed at the Bandung Conference, where Myanmar played a key role in shaping the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (Panchsheel), which became a cornerstone for newly independent and non-aligned nations during the Cold War.
In the early 1960s, Myanmar earned regional respect and recognition for its political position. However, after the 1962 military coup and the establishment of the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), Myanmar closed its doors to the world, losing influence and respect within the region. Relations with neighboring China also deteriorated, as the Chinese Communist Party supported the Burmese Communist Party (BCP) with weapons and expertise. The Shan State in northern Myanmar witnessed invasions by the Kuomintang, supported by the U.S., which complicated Myanmar’s relations with both China and the U.S. during the Cold War.
These incidents represent the foreign interventions Myanmar has experienced in the past. After gaining independence, the unity of the people under the AFPFL government only lasted to a certain extent. Ethnic rights, leftist ideologies, and ethnic-nationalist rivalries led the military to enter the political scene, culminating in a coup.
During and after the 1988 uprising and the 2021 military coup, which prevented the elected NLD government from taking office, the public’s dissatisfaction with military rule led to hopes for foreign intervention. But realistically, can such foreign involvement be welcomed? Given the ties between foreign interventions and vested interests, it’s highly unlikely that foreign powers would simply come in, topple the tyrants, and hand power over to a popular leader. Foreign nations don’t intervene in another country’s issues without a vested interest or financial stake.
Myanmar’s political leaders must understand that the country’s problems can only be resolved internally among domestic forces. While the public may desire foreign intervention to remove the oppressive military regime due to its brutal crimes, the political leadership needs to find ways to prevent such a course. In other words, Myanmar’s political forces must rise to meet the political challenges from within.