The question for Europe today is not whether Min Aung Hlaing and his lieutenants have changed their ways, argues an opinion piece in the Asia Times. The question is whether Europe has changed its habits.
The EU still has sanctions in place. But sanctions will be ineffectual and meaningless if Europe shifts its diplomacy to acknowledge the generals’ new look.
The UK has a different but related problem. Burma Campaign UK has recently warned that the minister’s statement has echoes of the mistakes Britain made after 2010. By welcoming a move from prison to house arrest for Suu Kyi, London risks giving the generals what they crave: a small reward for a staged gesture.