'A real transformation'

There have been celebrations on the streets of Myanmar and relief across the world. With Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) winning 43 seats in the recent by-elections, there is little cause to think that the polls were not free and fair, said Markus Löning, the German government's human rights commissioner, who acted as an election observer.

Although there may have been isolated incidents of NLD posters being removed, the results speak for themselves, he told DW. He was generally pleased about his discussions with various ministers, the head of the election commission and the speaker of the upper house of parliament.

"One can observe a real transformation in the country," he said. Just eight months ago, the Free Democrat politician was not allowed to meet political prisoners or hold talks with members of the government when he visited Myanmar.

Now, the great beacon of hope herself has a seat in parliament and there is speculation that Aung San Suu Kyi could even join the government.

Gradual change towards 2015

Even Myanmar President Thein Sein said the by-elections had been "held successfully" on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh. On Thursday, the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) acknowledged it might have to reinvent itself ahead of polls in 2015.

In an interview with DW, Marco Bünte from the GIGA Institute for Asian Studies said that he did not expect the "real power structures to change that much for the time being."

However, the by-elections have made a difference in the attitude of the international community. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed the "leadership and courage" of President Thein Sein and announced the US would start easing restrictions on US investment and financial services.

"The country is of course not yet a paradise for human rights," said Löning but it is going in the right direction. "We Europeans should support this development actively and positively and not stand skeptically on the sidelines." He said he was in favor of lifting the sanctions, especially because it would allow for the provision of development aid and also send out a political signal. He, however, was not in favor of lifting the arms embargo.

Sanctions or not?

Löning is one of many in Germany who has questioned the sense of sanctions as a punitive measure. "People in Myanmar told me that the sanctions we had imposed led to the generals getting rich and normal people becoming poor."

He said in future there should be more examination of who exactly is affected by international sanctions. "At the end of the day, however, we have to be honest and admit that sometimes we have no influence on certain situations," he stated.

Löning hoped that when the sanctions were lifted, Myanmar - once one of the richest countries in Asia - might be able to regain its erstwhile significance. He explained that the abundance of natural resources, its strategic geopolitical position and agriculture all spoke in the country's favor, as does the population's great desire for education, which the dictatorship had tried to suppress in order to keep a lid on potential dissent.

He added that German political foundations could contribute to Myanmar's transition by supporting the country's opposition and civil society and that the reopening of the Goethe Institute was an important step in this direction.

Author: Michael Gessat / Anne Thomas (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Sarah Berning