We are looking for the opening to the road to democracy,' said Aung San Suu Kyi during a frenetic press conference held in mid-November at the office of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), to mark the first anniversary of her release from house arrest. That year has been quite dramatic itself: Suu Kyi's image is now on newspapers and magazines near and far, the BBC is no longer forced to enter the country illegally, and Burma is set to chair the ASEAN regional bloc in 2014. Burma's generals had famously claimed that they were aiming to institute a system of 'discipline flourishing democracy' in the country – a vague phrase that only ever seemed to suit the needs of the military. Today, amidst new optimism, few have any more concrete answers on what might be taking place.
The Burmese are not apathetic, but they tend to withhold definitive statements about the 'reforms' that have taken place in recent months under President Thein Sein. Like many, a taxi driver says that he thinks the president is 'an honest man', but he bemoans the fraudulent process by which Thein Sein came to power. Notes a teacher, 'We hope things are moving, slow and steady – maybe.' Such statements are a reflection of more than two decades having gone by with little hope for the future, but they also point to the fact that things might well now be changing – slowly, maybe. Walking around Burma today, it feels as though many people are unsure of where they stand – journalists in particular. 'Journalists are still monitored by the secret police,' says one news editor. But, still, reporters today are able to gather at a pavement bar and talk casually about politics (or rumour) in a way that would not have been possible a year ago. Internet access is also far freer today; hotels, for instance, would have earlier been forced to put up signs warning Internet users against viewing 'political sites'.
In what some are viewing as one of the most significant hints of the changes to come, for the first time Rangoon is now host to public ATMs. At a bank in suburban Rangoon recently, a teller was guiding a young man on how to use a newly installed cash machine. Visa and Mastercard are not available yet, though one can only assume that their arrival too is on the horizon. 'Until now we couldn't attract much foreign direct investment, so in my point of view we need to take bold measures – not in our perception, but from the investors' points of view – to attract foreign investment, not only from China and neighbouring countries but from elsewhere too,' says Khin Maung Nyo, an economist and editor of the Workanomics journal.
Despite these flickers of change, the sense that Burma remains a country caught in a time warp is still palpable on the streets of Rangoon – a city that was once one of the continent's most prosperous. The lack of recognisable brands and advertising speaks of an isolation that can at times be charming, at least for a traveller. For the young and upwardly mobile, on the other hand, the lure of Singapore, or even the West, is evident in the desire to learn English and in the tastes of a generation that has come of age with the dual influences of the Internet and a military dictatorship. These tastes were on proud display at a Buddhist full-moon festival in November. While traditional festivities took place at the spectacular Shwedagon pagoda in Rangoon, at nearby Kandwagyi Lake young people, many dressed like African-American rappers (includ-ing frizzing their hair) had gathered to watch performances by local hip-hop artists.