At that time, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd joined other world leaders in welcoming the release of the 1991 Nobel peace laureate.
 
Rudd also spoke with Suu Kyi and expressed his intention to visit Burma to meet her.
 
On Thursday, Rudd will arrive in Burma to meet Suu Kyi and members of the newly ‘elected’ government to discuss ways Australia can support positive reform and development in the country.

Rudd will be the latest in a long line of dignitaries from the UN, US, EU, Japan and neighbouring states to visit Suu Kyi since her release from house arrest.

His trip is the first by an Australian foreign minister since Alexander Downer visited Burma in 2002. Downer, after criticizing the policy of Western democracies on Burma as failures, applied a ‘limited engagement’ policy to pressure the military junta to bring about political reform and respect for human rights. But his policy also failed.

Now it is Rudd’s turn to convince the new ‘civilian’ regime, formed in March by the senior members of the previous military junta, to do the right thing.

When he spoke with Suu Kyi soon after her release last year, Rudd reiterated Australia’s commitment to helping the Burmese people in their struggle for democracy and welcomed Suu Kyi’s dedication to inclusive dialogue and reconciliation.

But now those calls must be fleshed out into a stronger push for democratic and human rights reforms in the country. Rudd should urge the Burmese authorities to protect Suu Kyi from violent attacks and assassination attempts as she is central to peaceful political change in Burma. Suu Kyi has narrowly escaped three assassination attempts and is considered at high risk for as long as she stays in Burma.

He should also demand that the Burmese authorities immediately stop military hostilities against ethnic minorities and potential crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Burmese army. These gross violations continue unabated despite the dissolution of the military junta and the establishment of the ‘civilian’ regime.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights situation in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, has reiterated his call for an international Commission of Inquiry to investigate possible crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Burma’s army.
 
When Rudd was prime minister, his government was the first country to support the call in March 2010 for war crimes investigations. So far, 16 nations, including the US, Britain and France have supported it. The US has publicly supported a UN-led Commission of Inquiry, but it has done little to make it a reality, worrying that its efforts will be futile so long as Asian countries, particularly China, are opposed.

After Suu Kyi pushed for such an investigation during her special message to US lawmakers last week, the US said that it was consulting closely with its friends, allies, and other partners at the United Nations for the UN-led probe into Burma’s many war crimes. In this light, it is important for Australia to take a more vocal and active role in the setting up of an international commission of inquiry for investigation into crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma.

We believe that a meaningful dialogue between the current regime in Burma, Suu Kyi and ethnic nationalities for national reconciliation and democratization is vital. Support and pressure from the international community is also important for change in the country.

If Rudd’s visit fails to convince the new regime to bring about democratic change, he needs to expand the existing targeted sanctions on Burma to exert more pressure on the new regime to heed the international calls for the cessation of human rights abuses, the release of all political prisoners and the beginning of an inclusive political dialogue for national reconciliation.

Dr Myint Cho, the director of the Sydney-based Burma Office, has worked for the promotion of democracy and human rights in Burma since 1984.