Only a government that has to account to the people for everything that it does will be able to rid Burma of this terrible problem of drug production and trade. I'm sure that the people of Canada and the members of the Canadian parliament are as keen as we are to get on with the eradication of drugs in Burma. But it is important that we should go about it in the right way. To cooperate with organizations and groups which can do nothing about eliminating the real cause of the drug production in Burma would reap only very small short-term benefits. In order that we may eradicate drugs completely and that the problem of drug addiction in Burma as well as in the rest of the world may be dealt with effectively, we need in place good governance.
Democracy is about good governance.
Everything I say comes back to that democracy in Burma. The movement for democracy in Burma is working for many things. And at the same time, it is working for just a few things. If we were to detail all the effects that we expect from good governance in Burma it would be endless. And yet we could put it all down to a few basic facts.