We are looking for the opening to the road to democracy,' said Aung San Suu Kyi during a frenetic press conference held in mid-November at the office of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), to mark the first anniversary of her release from house arrest. That year has been quite dramatic itself: Suu Kyi's image is now on newspapers and magazines near and far, the BBC is no longer forced to enter the country illegally, and Burma is set to chair the ASEAN regional bloc in 2014. Burma's generals had famously claimed that they were aiming to institute a system of 'discipline flourishing democracy' in the country – a vague phrase that only ever seemed to suit the needs of the military. Today, amidst new optimism, few have any more concrete answers on what might be taking place.
The Burmese are not apathetic, but they tend to withhold definitive statements about the 'reforms' that have taken place in recent months under President Thein Sein. Like many, a taxi driver says that he thinks the president is 'an honest man', but he bemoans the fraudulent process by which Thein Sein came to power. Notes a teacher, 'We hope things are moving, slow and steady – maybe.' Such statements are a reflection of more than two decades having gone by with little hope for the future, but they also point to the fact that things might well now be changing – slowly, maybe. Walking around Burma today, it feels as though many people are unsure of where they stand – journalists in particular. 'Journalists are still monitored by the secret police,' says one news editor. But, still, reporters today are able to gather at a pavement bar and talk casually about politics (or rumour) in a way that would not have been possible a year ago. Internet access is also far freer today; hotels, for instance, would have earlier been forced to put up signs warning Internet users against viewing 'political sites'.