Kick Burma out of the United Nations? That’s what The Wall Street Journal is suggesting is an appropriate punishment for the country’s miserable response to Cyclone Nargis:
The United Nations this week said the refusal of Burma’s government to allow workers into the country’s devastated agricultural region was unprecedented in the history of humanitarian relief. The human catastrophe produced by Burma’s refusal to permit aid in the wake of Cyclone Nargis has stunned the senses of a world that has watched this spectacle for a week.
…It’s time to kick Burma out of the United Nations. If the U.N. does not put in motion a process to suspend Burma from its U.N. membership, then, clearly, nothing is forbidden….Booting Burma out of the U.N. would be symbolic.
“Symbolic” indeed. Since it’s not a serious punishment, the only thing that such an action is likely to accomplish is the elimination of a much-needed avenue for dialogue and conflict-resolution. Perhaps it’s better for the United States to focus on leveling some real punishments, as part of a comprehensive carrots-and-sticks approach, than just resorting to feel-good gestures.