Tom Andrews says his interest in Myanmar dates back to 1990, when he was elected to the U.S. House as Maine’s 1st District representative.
“I got to go to Congress when I won that election. Aung San Suu Kyi, and the National League for Democracy, won their election in 1990. They went to prison, or house arrest, or exile. And that really got my goat,” he says.
Andrews has followed developments in the region ever since. Last year, he began serving as Special Rapporteur for Myanmar for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Andrews spoke with Morning Edition host Irwin Gratz about what has happened there since a military coup late last month, and how the world might reverse its effect.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Gratz: So at this point, what can the U.S. do?
Andrews: We need to have tougher sanctions. It has to be on individuals — generals and their associates — but also on their businesses and business associations. We have to stop the revenue flows to them. We need to have coordinated sanctions. So right now we have a hodgepodge of sanctions around the world. We need to get them focused and coordinate them so they pack a collective punch. We have to have an arms embargo. And if the Security Council of the U.N., which is meeting on Friday, is unable to do that, and betting people are betting that they won’t, then we as the rest of the world can engage in that. Forty-one countries right now have some form of arms embargo — same thing. We have to increase that number, we have to coordinate them and focus them and stop the flow of weapons going into the generals.
And last but not least, I want to get this to the International Criminal Court. I want to hold everyone here responsible, who are responsible for these atrocities, fully accountable. And if we can get that into the court, they can investigate, they can prosecute, and perhaps we could put some of these people behind bars.
You mentioned the U.N. Security Council a moment ago. One of the other important world powers in all of this is China. Is that why you’re not confident that the U.N. will act?
Yes, China plays a critically important role, needless to say. For years, the generals have been able to hide behind the protection of China and the Security Council. They provide them with most of their weapons, with trade and investment. So they’re a very, very big player. But listen, they have a self interest. They do not want a conflagration right next door. And as a result, I believe, we’ve begun to see some very positive signs — I mean, modest, but positive. They’ve condemned the coup, they have called for the release of all political prisoners, they have allowed the Security Council to at least meet and engage. These are modest steps, yes, but we’re talking about China. And I’m hoping that the public steps that we’re seeing may be complemented by behind-the-scenes steps in which they’re engaging the generals and tell them this is just a non starter, and they have to back off.
The New York Times reported this week on the Myanmar military’s use of advanced technology to target opponents of the coup.
They have, of course, stripped away any protections that anybody has of privacy. Their surveillance capabilities are significant. You know, it’s a double-edged sword. I mean, they do have that capability, it’s true, but we have now increased capability. Anyone with a mobile phone can take pictures, can take video, can record what’s going on. And I made it very clear to soldiers, to police officers on the streets, we’re watching you, we can see you, we’re following you. And no matter where you sit on the chain of command, you will be held accountable. This is a police state, with all the modern tools of repression. And they’re showing us that they’re willing to use it.
As you well know, this is a dynamic that has played out for many years in this country. Are you optimistic that pressure from the outside might convince the generals to back off, to once again allow Myanmar’s nascent democracy to take hold?
I think the key here are the people in Myanmar. They’re going to determine their future. But we can work with them and for them, and be partners with them, following their lead. And what they’re telling us is we need international pressure. Now, I’ve followed Myanmar long enough to know that the generals will tell us that they’re impervious to international pressure. It just won’t work. But we know from history that it does work. The democracy gains that were overturned in this coup, those gains were made precisely because of economic pressure from the international community. It has worked, I believe it can work again. But it has to be tough, coordinated and focused and unrelenting.
The side of the story that we’re not seeing so much is just the incredible capacity of the people of Myanmar. The courage, the tenacity and the creativity that they’re using. There’s a civil disobedience movement that is just paralyzing the economy. I asked someone just the other day, I said, ‘So, you’ve got to be frightened walking out onto those streets?’ And he said to me, ‘Yes, we are frightened. But we’re more frightened of what will happen if we don’t win. We’re more frightened of what will become of our kids if they have to live under this regime. So we fight.’
