There's no shortage of hypocrites when Burma's the subject, and recent events have given them ample room on the world stage.

The show started in New York, where UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that the military junta's efforts to make the upcoming election inclusive, free and fair were “frustrating” and “disappointing.”

How many times has he expressed this frustration and disappointment? In 2009, Ban claimed that he had a good meeting with junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe in Naypyidaw, receiving from the general a promise that the election would be free and fair.

Aung Zaw is founder and editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be reached at [email protected]

Ban urged Than Shwe to free all political prisoners but the general refused to listen. Ban now says he respects the decision of the National League for Democracy (NLD) not to take part in the election.

The US, a vocal critic of the repressive regime, followed suit.
 
At the Washington headquarters of the US State Department, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P J Crowley said the Obama administration respects the NLD’s decision.

Responding to a press briefing question, Crowley said: “That was a decision for the NLD to make, and we think it’s regrettable that this is a reflection of the unwillingness of the government in Burma to take what we thought were the necessary steps to open up the political process and to engage in serious dialogue with not only key figures like Aung San Suu Kyi, her political movement, others, as well as the various ethnic groups that want to have a say in Burma’s future.”

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who once called Suu Kyi a friend and declared he was “saddened and angry” at the “monstrous” sentencing of Suu Kyi last year, added his voice, saying: “Sadly, the Burmese regime has squandered the opportunity for national reconciliation.”

He then added, “Aung San Suu Kyi must be allowed to take her rightful place at the heart of Burmese politics.”

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told ABC Radio: “I don't believe that any election without the National League for Democracy can be a full, free and fair election”.

Smith said the new election law made it difficult, if not impossible, for the NLD to take part in the election with Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi as its leader.

“Unless something fundamental or substantial changes, regrettably I think it does put paid to what slim prospects we had, hopeful prospects we had earlier this year that we might make some progress on the democracy front in Burma,” Smith said.

For its part, Japan is due to raise Burma’s current political situation  on the sidelines of the G-8 foreign ministerial meeting in Canada, which kicks off on Monday.

The Tokyo government, one of Burma’s largest donors, warned that it would not expand its economic aid to Burma if Suu Kyi is barred from the election. That's an interesting stand in view of the well known fact that senior Japanese diplomats usually accuse Suu Kyi in private of being stubborn and uncompromising.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's foreign minister plans a trip to Burma to discuss the party registration law and the planned election. It's safe to predict that he will leave Burma empty handed.

In Singapore, whose government is a staunch supporter of the pariah regime in Burma, a foreign ministry spokesman said: “We are disappointed that the new election laws have led to this result. This will make it harder for national reconciliation to be achieved.”

The spokesman added: “We have always held that national reconciliation among the stakeholders is a critical element for the legitimacy of the elections. This would require the participation of the National League for Democracy and other political parties. It is still not too late for all parties to reach a compromise and we urge them to do so.”

I am sure that both Than Shwe and Suu Kyi are fully aware of who are friends and foes in the international arena.

They both always compete to win friends, as well as hypocrites, saviors and experts who would have difficulty even pronouncing the names of  Suu Kyi and Than Shwe correctly, let alone possess any command of Burmese language.