Mixed Reaction to Myanmar Opposition Party Boycott

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The party's leaders and members have often faced detention and closure of party offices. Now the country's principal opposition movement could face virtual eradication since it will no longer be a legal organization.

"Without parliamentary representation, the NLD runs the risk of losing its substantive political following and being reduced to a 'silent majority,'" said Professor Monique Skidmore, a Myanmar expert at the University of Canberra. "But it's a crafty political decision and it is fundamentally a moral one."

Since the election laws were only enacted this month, there has been little time for parties to form and mobilize, and so the election lineup in this ethnically diverse nation is still unclear. But it appears the military will field a party against a number of small ones, some of them pro-military.

"The NLD's boycott represents an act of bold leadership and a call for solidarity among actors in civil society who are opposed to the regime. But it is a dangerous and risky strategy," said John Dale, a conflict resolution specialist at Virginia's George Mason University.

The junta hopes holding the vote will ease pressure for political reforms and accommodation with the country's pro-democracy movement. Yet international doubts over the fairness of the polls are now likely deepen despite recent efforts by the United States and other governments to engage more actively with the junta.

"The NLD's boycott is a call to the international community to shake a stick where the carrot of recent political engagement has failed," Dale said.

U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters that U.S. officials "understand and respect" the NLD decision. "This is a reflection of the unwillingness of the government in Burma to take what we thought were the necessary steps to open up the political process and to engage in serious dialogue," Crowley said.