Lonely Planet's Burma guide called unethical {Gadling}

Feb 27th 2008 3:05PM There seems to be a conflation of two ideas here: one, whether LP should publish a guidebook to Burma, and two, whether or not there should be a travel ban.

1) I find it highly unethical and irresponsible that LP has chosen to go against the wishes of a nation’s democratically elected leader in the hopes of turning a quick buck. They should recognise their moral duty and withdraw this book from publication. — Encouraging a company to behave honourably is not in any way the same thing as censorship or banning a book.

2) The debate as to whether or not there should be a travel ban is moot because there *is* a travel ban. As the democratically-elected leader of her country, Ms Suu Kyi feels that it would be in the best interests of the nation and its people for tourist dollars to be spent elsewhere. As leader of her country, we should all respect and abide by her decision.

Yes, many people in Burma rely on tourism. But there are many people in countries without a self-imposed travel ban who are just as deserving of your tourist money as the Burmese. If concern for the plight of the average Burmese citizen is really what's motivating us, our money would be better spent as a donation to an aid organisation like the Burma Campaign or to Amnesty International.