by CAREY L. BIRON
WASHINGTON, May 11, 2012 (IPS) – Discussion of economic reforms in Myanmar (Burma) should not overshadow the critical need for a political solution to the longstanding grievances of the country’s ethnic minorities, observers in Washington warned on Friday.
In recent days, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that Myanmar is set for an “economic takeoff”, even while new reports state that ongoing violence in the ethnic minority Kachin state has claimed the lives of 31 more people.
“When you talk to government officials in Burma about the problems in the ethnic areas, their usual reaction is to say that the answer is economic development. I think that is absolutely not the case,” said Tom Malinowski, Washington director for Human Rights Watch, speaking at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
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