A Better Role Model

In May 1998, Suharto stepped down and reforms were introduced by the democratic governments that followed.

In 1988, Ne Win was forced out under circumstances similar to those present during the overthrow of Suharto—he also faced student protests and a series of nationwide uprisings in which thousands of people were killed. Then for a brief moment, when Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy dominated the 1990 election, it appeared that Burma might be taking the same democratic reform path as Indonesia. But when the new junta threw out the results of the election and placed Suu Kyi under house arrest, the moment was lost.

Since that time, conditions have only deteriorated in Burma, while the situation in Indonesia continues to improve. Today, Indonesia has a democratically elected government under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, while Burma remains under the rule of military strongman Snr-Gen Than Shwe. Indonesia has a modern banking system, while Burma still doesn’t have its first ATMs. Jakarta residents enjoy access to the latest IT innovations, while in Rangoon, cell phones are beyond the reach of all but the very wealthy and well-connected. While Indonesians have the right to express themselves freely, Burmese face arrest and imprisonment for violating draconian censorship laws.

“If there are injustices, people in Indonesia can complain directly to the government, while in Burma we cannot,” said Snay Aung, an ethnic Karenni attending a peace-building training conference in Indonesia.

Analysts have noted that Burma’s military junta is looking to North Korea as its apparent role model for maintaining power and increasing influence. But most agree that Indonesia, a country that has successfully transitioned from a dictatorship engaged in human rights abuses to a democracy promoting the cause of human rights, would be a better role model if the Burmese regime wants to lift its people out of the economic and political abyss that it has dragged their nation into.

In addition, if the Burmese opposition is looking for an example of a successful overthrow of a dictator for inspiration, it may look to Indonesia. And if some members of the Burmese military can look beyond Naypyidaw to Jakarta and see that in a democratic society everyone is better off, then maybe change from within the regime can begin as well.

This article was published as part of a fellowship the author received from the 2010 Southeast Asian Press Alliance, SEAPA.