BURMA
Who cares if the election is 'free and fair'?
- Published: 20/10/2010 at 03:22 AM
- Newspaper section: News
Do Burma's rulers care if this year's election is free and fair? Of course not. Why should they?
Defiant exiles: Burmese protesters pose with placards as they hold a demonstration in New Delhi about the upcoming election in their home country.
It is not as if holding a sham election will make them the black sheep of the regional family. The political systems of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are not even remotely democratic. Even Thailand, long seen as a beacon of democracy, barely gives off a faint glow these days. And while China's development over the past three decades puts Burma's once vibrant economy to shame, Beijing is almost as politically backward and ideologically bankrupt as Naypyidaw.
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About the author
- Writer: Aung Zaw
- Position: Founder and editor of the Irrawaddy Magazine
