A day to celebrate and remember the past

It is either a sheer coincidence or an act of God that today marks three important events in Asia - all of which are linked in one way or another to human aspirations for excellence, democracy and better lives. Today is, of course, is the opening day of the summer Olympic Games in Beijing. It is also the 20th anniversary of the so-called "8888 movement" in Burma and the democratic struggle that took place there on August 8, 1988 when Burmese troops crushed and killed thousands of students on the streets and drove thousands of others into exile in Thailand and elsewhere. Finally, today is also Asean Day and is linked to the founding of Asean in 1967 in Thailand, which will chair the grouping until the end of next year.

The Beijing games mean a lot to the Chinese, as well as to the region. The games are the pride of Asia, just as they were when Japan and South Korea hosted them in 1964 and 1988 respectively. In both countries, the games spurred further economic and political reforms that have made their countries vibrant today. Of course, the international community is hoping that the games will have a similar impact on China, particularly in the area of civil and political rights. Obviously, China is freer today than it was 30 years ago, but the situation is far from sufficient in relation to the country's growing status in the international arena.

If positive changes come to China, it would have an impact on the democratic atmosphere throughout the region. At the moment, Beijing is the strongest supporter of the Burmese junta, as well as the regimes in Sudan and Zimbabwe. China has provided both arms and assistance to these countries to ensure that they would be able to weather growing international isolation. Closer to home, the international community has for decades urged China's leaders to put pressure on Burma for greater openness and national reconciliation. Beijing has resisted, saying that it would not interfere with the domestic affairs of another country. At least for the next three weeks, all eyes on this planet will zero in on China. Whatever it does, intentionally or not, will make headlines.

Twenty years ago today, more than 3,000 Burmese were killed by the military crackdown on the streets of Rangoon. It was the start of a long revolution for the Burmese against the military junta there. The so-called "8888 generation" continue their quest for political openness at great risk. Many of them languish in jails as political prisoners. Last September, together with thousands of monks, they bravely fought against the military, which used arms to quash their peaceful demonstration. The violence caused an international outcry and forced the UN Security Council to take a front seat. Progress has been slow.

Cyclone Nargis in early May affected 1.2 million villagers and the international community responded with great sympathy and an influx of humanitarian assistance. The military junta has cleverly used the foreign assistance and discrepancies in exchange rates to enrich themselves and their cronies. Ironically, members of the international community promised not to politicise their relief efforts - a pledge that has played into the hands of the Rangoon junta. Now, the regime is stronger and has tighter controls of society through aid and rescue plans. In the months and years to come, economic rehabilitation and restructuring will be used as tools to strengthen the regime's future grips of power.

Asean's destiny is linked to the situation in Burma. Ever since it was admitted into the grouping in 1997, Burma has been a huge thorn in Asean's side. As a member, Burma has repeatedly failed to comply with Asean's norms and practices. Indeed, for the past decade, Burma has seldom given into peer pressure from Asean. After Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, the junta allowed Asean-led relief efforts in to help the cyclone victims. But the jury is still out how the regime there would use the international fund for its own good and continue political suppression there.

As Asean chair, Thailand has a long list of responsibilities to meet at the regional and international levels. Newly appointed Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag has brought a certain degree of much-needed creditability to the Samak Sundaravej government. But for the long run, it would need more than one decent Cabinet minister to rescue the country from its diplomatic conundrum.