On April 1, international election monitors and media outlets reported a remarkable event in Myanmar. Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi — who spent years under house arrest, and sometimes in prison, fighting for democracy and justice — was elected to Parliament. All week, calls have grown for all economic sanctions and international pressure on the regime to be lifted.

Heeding these calls would be a serious mistake.

I and a colleague spent election day in Kachin state, in the northernmost part of Myanmar. Bullets, not ballots, are the currency there. International observers and reporters are not welcome. After crossing the border from China under the cloak of darkness, and making our way over bone-crushing roads, we saw why.