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The Economics of Protest in Burma
By Burma Partnership • July 12, 2010On 5 July, as many as 3,000 students protested in Sittwe, Arakan State, against the 100% increase in regime-run school bus fares due to rising fuel prices. In a statement, the All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress said that diesel and petrol prices have been on the rise since the junta’s wave of privatizations.
Increases in fuel prices have sparked protests in Sittwe before, but are most notably responsible for setting off the 2007 Saffron Revolution when hundreds of thousands of people took to the street.
The recent rise in fuel prices is the latest example of the military regime’s persistent mismanagement of the economy of Burma. In a country where the majority of people are struggling to make ends meet, an increase in the price of basic commodities or restrictions on their livelihoods can be unmanageable. Starting this week, roadside vendors are banned from the streets of Rangoon, with violators facing detention and the destruction of their stall. In addition to livelihoods being taken away, residents of the former capital are also facing apartment rents that have doubled in recent months due to the demolition of many buildings and new construction projects. Small and medium-sized business owners in Rangoon are also being ordered to pay taxes two years in advance in order to renew their business licences.
Two detailed reports about Burma’s economy have been released in recent months. In its report, The Economy of Burma/Myanmar on the Eve of the 2010 Elections, the United States Institute of Peace said that the military regime’s “misguided economic policies… have deprived the economy of the basic foundations for sustainable improvements in living standards.” Sean Turnell shows in his report, Dissecting the Data: Burma’s Macroeconomy at the Cusp of the 2010 ‘Elections’, that Burma’s economy is “unbalanced, unstable and largely without the institutions and attributes necessary to achieve transformational growth.” The reports show how the military regime has mismanaged the economy of Burma since it came into power, using the country’s resources to line their own pockets. As Turnell argues, the upcoming elections, already lacking in political credibility, will not offer any reforms necessary for Burma to achieve economic stability and growth. Only genuinely democratic and inclusive elections based on national reconciliation would provide the framework for economic progress and improvements in living standards for the people of Burma.
Tags: Economy, ProtestThis post is in: Blog
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