8 Conclusion
175. Burma used to be one of the richest countries
in South East Asia, it is now the poorest mainly as a result of
decades of corrupt undemocratic military leadership. There is
now an opportunity to reverse this and bring Burma back to its
past glory. It has huge natural resources of oil, gas, precious
stones. It was once the rice bowl of Asia and now suffers from
poor crops and food shortages. It is the last country in South
East Asia to develop and there is a lot of interest of both industry
and businesses to cash in on its natural wealth and its population
of potential consumers. There is a need to prevent the misuse
of resources and for the wealth of the country to be shared.
176. We are persuaded that a window of opportunity
has recently opened in Burma for considerable reform to make the
country a more democratic and free society. Although some organisations
are sceptical about the reforms, we believe that there are opportunities
to fundamentally improve the living standards of thousands of
people. No progress can be made standing aside adopting a cynical
approach; optimism is required. These moments do not come along
often and should be embraced before the moment is missed. We see
the high risk, high reward approach of DFID to be entirely appropriate.
177. UK has a strong historical connection with Burma,
we have a legacy there which comes with responsibilities. We recommend
an increase in DFID's budget to £100 million. Burma is in
a unique position which is worth the risk.
178. We recommend that DFID maintain its large health
budget. Combating malaria should be a priority.
179. We see two areas for an increase in spending:
governance— including assisting the peace process, helping
to reduce inter-communal religious violence and parliamentary
strengthening— and education where there should be a very
significant increase. An educated population is the key to improvement
in all sectors and should go hand in hand with our health programme.
180. However DFID Burma's programme should not roll
forward whatever the situation. It should be nimble and flexible
to change. We welcome the innovative use of the Accelerated Reform
Programme use of funds. If reform in Burma does start to falter
and things start moving backwards DFID and the UK Government should
be strong to act, reducing or diverting funding and projects.
181. DFID has a key role in donor coordination and
should make this a priority. DFID should do all it can to reduce
the burden small donors with small sums of money place on the
Ministers in the Burmese Government.
182. Politics in Burma is the key. DFID and the Foreign
Office need to engage in the political process. We welcome their
support for the removal of the constitutional obstacles to Aung
San Sui Kyi standing for the presidency. But it must be recognised
that the UK must not be seen as supporting a single candidate
but all reformers.
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