World Bank approves Burma loan

The World Bank has approved 80 million dollars in development aid for Burma, saying the country has moved at “warp speed” in opening up after years of authoritarian rule. In its statement, the Bank said that Burma, also known as Myanmar, still needs to build institutions to improve transparency and economic governance.

Human rights groups have expressed concerns that international recognition of the regime is outpacing genuine, meaningful reform. “I think there is a lot of concern in Burma about how fast the World Bank is moving here,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK.

“The international community thinks that it has an opportunity with Thein Sein and the current government . . . to get some real changes, and they want to do everything they can to encourage it,” he said. "But the concern is is that they are moving too far too fast, that they’ve relaxed the sanctions, now they’re resuming loans from the World Bank and other organisations, and that therefore the incentive for the government to pursue further, much more deep and fundamental reforms will be lost.”

Listen to the complete interview of Burma Campaign UK Director Mark Farmaner with Christopher Wells: