Burma problem

LONDON: George Orwell predicted that of all the countries of the British Empire, none was more likely to prosper on achieving independence than Burma. Here was a country rich in human and natural resources whose future seemed assured.
Fifty years later, the reality is the opposite. Burma is near the bottom of the international league by most measures. Only in one, human rights abuses, is it near the top. It is ruled by a military dictatorship that has been in power in various guises since 1962.
It is the source of interethnic conflict, refugees and internal displacements, severe human rights abuses, narcotics production and trafficking and extensive environmental degradation.
Universities and colleges are repeatedly closed for prolonged periods for fear of political unrest, blighting a whole generation of students. Decades of self-imposed isolation and declin-ing income levels have taken a heavy toll. The harshness of the regime contrasts unhappily with the gentleness of the people and their Buddhist ethic of nonviolence.