Hasty praise, international oversell and overreaction to the so-called efforts by the junta to create an aura of stability in Myanmar, is actually blurring the bigger picture that exists in the country.
It is time the international community took a close-up view of the plight of the minorities and serious human rights abuses that are being committed there.
By opening up the economy, allowing human rights icon Aung San Suu Kyi to contest a by-election, freeing political prisoners and relaxing media censorship laws, the military seems to have shown its reformist face in a bid to win international acceptance and praise. The truth is, however, the opposite.
Nothing has changed in Myanmar as far as ground realities are concerned. The sectarian violence against the Rohingya Muslims in the state of Rakhine is evident of this point. What is being carried out against this minority is ethnic cleansing, which alarmingly is still ongoing.
Tragically, even a national idol like Suu Kyi has not leveraged her domestic and expanding global reputation to restrict the problem. She continues to sit on the fence in a bid to placate the military.
Status quo is not the answer. Democratic reforms do not arrive overnight, but there must be ample proof that wheels have been set in motion.
The current manoeuvrings seem to be a smokescreen by the junta to mislead the world.
