I write this article now rather than earlier for a very simple reason: Burma is again ‘slow news’. It received a publicity blitz with newspapers around the world screaming ‘tragedy’ when it was devastated by Cyclone Nargis. Now it is back to business as usual for the junta and the media, with snippets of news occasionally being published about Amnesty International or the heroics of aid workers. A senior American diplomat, Kurt Campbell, recently went on a ‘fact-finding’ mission to Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar. He was graciously given permission to go by the ruling junta. (Apparently there are still places in the world where America asks for permission before going.) Campbell has already astutely observed that it will be a “long, slow and painful” process.

In Burmese Days, George Orwell narrates the machinations of U Po Kyin. ‘U’ is short for uncle, an honorific still used in Burma today. U Po Kyin’s struggle to become a member of the European club while ruining the career of the native Dr Veraswami is reminiscent of what is happening in Burma today. However, the ‘Europeans’ are now playing a decidedly different role. Various world leaders have made it a point to talk about freedom, democracy and civil liberties but it seems that some countries are overlooked. The junta has been in power illegally for 18 years and it has not once been mentioned in the ‘axis of evil.’ Perhaps this is because the ‘evil’ is focused inwards on the Burmese people.

The generals held elections in 1990 and lost to the National League of Democracy, which received 82% of the vote. The army refused to relinquish power and started imprisoning and suppressing dissident voices. Before and after the elections many multi-national companies had bases in Burma. A sense of ‘corporate responsibility’ and image only affected some companies as late as 1997. Pepsi, Amoco, Reebok and Levi-Strauss are just a few of the companies that did business with the generals. Pepsi went so far as to say that their work with the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) was ‘missionary work’. The Japanese continue to give ‘aid’ to the junta. Countless Chinese companies have investments in Burma. The Chinese government is directly involved in controlling the energy sector, Burmese banks, financial institutions, mining companies and other key areas. Recently there was a Sino-Burmese agreement to build a multi-billion dollar gas and oil pipeline. To see the list of companies operating in Burma, type ‘dirty list Burma’ into Google.

The building of infrastructure projects like dams, railroads and pipelines was well documented by journalists and various human rights organisations. The working conditions were heinous. According to human rights organisations, the number of people used as slave labour per day was as high as 60,000 during the last decade. Old men and women, children and even pregnant women were forced to work on the government projects.

Later it was discovered that Total, a part-government owned French oil company, was investing $1 billion in a pipeline to carry natural gas from Burma to Thailand. During Bill Clinton’s presidency Stanley Roth, aide to Senator Stephen Solarz, was sent as a goodwill envoy to Burma. Roth was a supporter of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. During this time, despite the US imposed sanctions on Burma, UNOCAL was allowed to go ahead with its project with Total.

Granting a Nobel Prize to Aung San Suu Kyi was the most anyone was willing to do for Burma. Unfortunately, it is not longer clear what the Nobel Peace Prize stands for, having been awarded to a man who is at war in two countries and is fighting proxy wars all over the world. Lonely Planet encourages people to go to Burma as tourists, despite Aung San Suu Kyi’s calls for boycotting all commercial activities with Burma. Obviously, cutting all ties would merely isolate the generals even more. Perhaps the first step would be for China and India, both of whom have enough political and economic clout, to pressurize the generals to open up the Burmese political system but maybe it is not only the generals who want to prevent outside interference in Burma.

Burma is a hauntingly beautiful country with its teak and mahogany forests and glittering pagodas; but its people are ignored and continue to suffer silently. Rangoon, which ironically means ‘end of strife’, will be free only in the dreams of the Burmese people and Burma will once again be lost in the haze of our memories: forgotten, as it has been for over forty years.