Burma’s first elected parliament in half a century convened in its new compound in Naypyitaw today. It was not met with any enthusiasm by the Burmese people, however, who viewed the November 7 elections as a charade and do not expect any change under the new government. Unfortunately, this lack of optimism is justified since pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy boycotted the election expecting it to be a sham; a quarter of the seats in the upper and lower houses of parliament are reserved for the army; and the current leader of the junta, Than Shwe, is expected to become President or assign a protégé to the post. Western nations were extremely critical of the election process and are expected to continue to push for change in Burma by keeping economic and international sanctions in place. China, on the other hand, hailed today’s development in Burma as the start of a “new era” in which the military would still play a role “with its own special characteristics.” These statements were driven by China’s personal interests in tapping Burma’s rich oil and natural gas resources and protecting its own investments in pipelines in Burma to transport the oil and gas to China, rather than a realistic expectation in the ability of the new parliament to bring about an economic revitalization in Burma.
