Birmania. Aprite gli occhi/2.

The problem is that engagement with Burma has been tried many times before, and always without success. Nor is it the first time the regime has promised to free Suu Kyi, or that Suu Kyi has expressed her willingness to meet the generals. The patterns are all too familiar, the accommodating noises from the generals eerily similar to those uttered before.
The US sees the election as the opportune time to begin a process of democratic change. But, for the generals, the election is the culmination of nearly 50 years of running the country. They have no interest negotiating their own demise.
The generals want to tighten their grip on the country and they have moulded the constitution so that they can do just that. They have nobbled the media and they will not be in a hurry to free Suu Kyi so that she can arouse mass enthusiasm for another political party. And any younger army officers harbouring ideas of a more pluralistic society have been kept sweet with more privileges. The election will be a confirmation, if not a tribute, to the generals' own success.

(Burma engagement offers false hope)