Turning Over a New Maple Leaf

Canadian MP Peter Van Loan is the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform in Canada. He recently offered the opening speech at the one-day Burma conference organized by the Canadian government in Quebec City.
 
The Irrawaddy spoke to Peter Van Loan on the upcoming referendum in Burma, Ottawa’s sanctions policy and its relationship with military-ruled Burma.

Peter Van Loan

Answer: The tough sanctions play two roles: one is a symbolic statement representing Canada’s desire to see real change in respect of democracy, freedom and human rights in Burma. It’s also a tangible matter. We have seen, for example, in the precedent of South Africa, the international action that Canada was a leader in had a real effect in helping that country move out of Apartheid and into a situation of greater freedom and democracy. We hope that other countries in the international arena will engage and do the same as we have.

Q: Some critics say that the Canadian sanctions are not tough enough …

A: Well, they are the toughest sanctions in the world right now. Our priority in the near term must be to get as many other countries to do the same, especially countries that are closer and have more interaction with Burma than Canada does. So if we can get broad engagement from the international community the impact of those sanctions will be a lot stronger.

Q: What do you think when Burma’s neighbors—India, Thailand and China—continue to trade with and aid the Burmese military rulers? Do you oppose the constructive engagement policy with the Burmese military government?

A:  We obviously want to see them be constructive, but because of the positions that they’re in with stronger relations and interests, they have the potential to have the greatest impact and be constructive partners in this. And I know that there’s been some movement of a positive nature in the past, but there needs to be a lot more. So we’re very much looking toward countries that are closer to Burma to do as we have and make clear their desire for change through the imposition of sanctions and other measures.

Q: The US has imposed trade and “smart” sanctions on Burma, but Chevron is still there. What about Canadian investment in Burma? Is there a message to Canadian companies that are still investing in Burma?

A: There’s a clear rule that there will not be any more investment in Burma. That’s a strong signal to our business community already. But to upgrade our success rate now we want to support the efforts of the UN envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, to get more members of the international community engaged in the issue in a strong wave through sanctions.

Q: There has been a lot of strong criticism that the UN mission has been a complete failure and that there has to be a review of how the UN engages with the Burmese junta. What is your view on that?

A: There’s no doubt that it’s easy to find critics in a situation where, for decades, there’s been so much resistance to change. We prefer to focus on the positive elements that have occurred—the level of engagement. There have been some responses from the regime—imperfect though they may be—but the fact that the regime is now talking about a constitution, a referendum and elections represents a step in the right direction. What’s important now is to ensure that that process is corrected so that it involves genuine engagement for the opposition democratic forces and to ensure that any referendum or any elections are genuinely transparent.