Burmese president placates cynics

Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, left, and President Thein Sein. Photo / Supplied

Burma's new strongman has a pacemaker and thick glasses.

Like his predecessors, he's a General, but more the Arthur Lowe, Dad's Army kind: his long career has seen him at his desk in many of the safest places in the republic.

But when he made his inaugural speech, President Thein Sein appeared to have at least one attribute of the tyrants who came before him: brass cheek. According to Marie Lall, a South Asia specialist, he told Burma's new parliament on August 22 of action to ensure good governance and democratic practices.

He spoke of fundamental rights of citizens, the rule of law, transparency, reducing the gap between the rich and poor, creation of a harmonious society, economic reforms and environmental conservation.

It was, in other words, a knockabout comedy of a speech, given the fact that few nations embody the absence of those attributes better than Burma. Yet this President is proving a surprise: he appears to mean it - or at least some of it.

Thein Sein became President on March 30, but it was only in August, with parliament preparing to convene, that he showed his hand in the most unexpected way: by inviting democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to an hour-long, one-on-one meeting, followed by dinner with himself and his wife.

That meeting was followed by a blizzard of reforms. The most unexpected was the decision to call a halt to the building of the Myitsone dam on the Irrawaddy, a Chinese-inspired project that had provoked a broad-based opposition movement.

Then came the announcement that 6359 prisoners were to be freed.

- INDEPENDENT