In a recent interview, Denmark's Minister for Development Cooperation Ulla Tørnæs said economic sanctions on Burma and a tourism boycott are counterproductive and suggested the country would benefit from more tourists and trade with the world.

Considering the political orientation of the Burmese army and its all-dominant position within the country, her argument should provide the latest impulse for critical, constructive debate about how the international community can assist in creating an environment in which positive change—both political and economic—is possible.

Nowadays, all can agree engagement with the regime and sanctions against it have been largely ineffectual. Sanctions have not been universally applied, for instance, because of unfavorable attitudes in the region and politics in the UN Security Council. Even in the Western camp there have been differences in approach between the US and the EU, as witnessed in the remarks by Ulla Tørnæs.

Meanwhile, Burma's regional trading partners—China, India and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who prioritize regional stability and economic progress—have eagerly filled any gap in Burmese trade and business, arguing that engaging the junta will be more productive in the long run than isolating it through sanctions.

Countries that promote trade with Burma can, however, only contribute to status quo stability—not produce economic progress. Nor can they be expected to press for democratization.

The people who have been struggling to survive under decades-long oppression are now saying: “Enough is enough.” They are fed up with the military government's mismanagement of an economy in which per capita GDP is less than half of that in Cambodia or Bangladesh. They eagerly want to rebuild a new nation politically, socially, and economically under the name of "good governance."

That is why the citizens of Burma are trying hard to find a way or a design to bridge the gap among all responsible stakeholders in maintaining pressure for tangible reforms.

The call for a boycott of travel to Burma by opposition groups led by Aung San Suu Kyi is related to human rights abuses, such as forced labor and relocations involved in beautifying historical cities such as Pagan, Mrauk-U and Mandalay and to make way for tourism development, such as hotels, airports and golf courses.

Instead of trying to gain a better image through working for national reconciliation and practising universal values, Burma's ruling generals complain that sanctions and the support for international pressure given by the opposition National League for Democracy and its leader, Suu Kyi, have systematically weakened the economy by limiting trade, investment and foreign aid.

It is not wrong for Ulla Tørnæs to want to see the Burmese have a better life and for their country to develop economically. These needs, however, are related not to the "bad" policies of the Burmese opposition but to the regime’s current policies, which ignore the wellbeing of Burma and its people.