Hillary Clinton to visit Burma

Hillary Clinton to visit Burma to check on 'flickers of progress'

News of first Burma visit by a US secretary of state in 50 years follows decision by Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD to re-enter politics

• Jonathan Watts
• guardian.co.uk, Friday 18 November 2011 09.15 EST
Obama announces Clinton visit to Burma   Link to this video  Hillary Clinton will become the first US secretary of state in 50 years to visit Burma, it has been announced, as Washington ramped up its efforts to kindle "flickers of progress" in the isolated south-east Asian nation. The visit next month, announced by Barack Obama, appeared to be a reward for Burma's reforms, which were marked hours earlier by the return to politics of the democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. The double boost was widely applauded as a sign that Burma may be moving in from the political cold, but it contains risks: a political transformation is far from guaranteed in a government system that is still largely under the influence of the military, and the move may add to China's suspicion that the US is attempting an encirclement policy. In announcing a "historic opportunity" for a top-level diplomatic mission, Obama spelled out that Burma had a long way to go to shake off decades of repression by military leaders. The US has serious concerns over human rights abuses, the detention of political prisoners and Burma's treatment of ethnic minorities. But Obama said "after years of darkness, we've seen flickers of progress in these last several weeks" – apparently a reference to the government's release of political prisoners, economic reforms and a decision to halt a controversial dam project. News of Clinton's visit was welcomed by both the Burmese government and supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi. "It's a very good sign," Ko Ko Hlaing, chief political adviser to the president, Thein Sein, told Reuters. "I think it is a significant turn in US policy towards Myanmar … people in Myanmar will welcome, cheer Hillary Clinton because for a time in history, they have never seen a secretary of state."

 

One Year On: Has Aung San Suu Kyi’s Release Changed Burma?

One Year On: Has Aung San Suu Kyi’s Release Changed Burma? (VOA Henry Rodgewell Nov. 8, 2011)


Twelve months after Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest, a new government has begun talking to some of its critics. ActionAid, a charity working in Burma, says the opportunity to advance reforms should be seized. But outside the major cities, ethnic minority groups say the suppression of their people is only getting worse.
It’s a year since opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from seven years of house arrest - to rapturous cheers from thousands of supporters who had gathered outside her Rangoon home.

Her opposition to Burma’s military rulers had seen her spend 15 of the previous 21 years in detention.
The nominally civilian government has opened a tentative dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi. Some observers say this offers the best chance in decades to advance democratic reform.

British actress Emma Thompson recently traveled to Burma with the charity ActionAid, and met Aung San Suu Kyi. “She’s very cautious but optimistic," she said. "The phrase she used to me about what was happening now was, ‘it is very important that we do not proceed with indecent haste.'"

Thompson was left with optimistic impressions from her visit.

“I did see poverty of course," she said. "Deep, wrenching poverty. But I did not feel that there was a generation of people there too scared to move forward and inhabit the space that appears to be appearing. I felt that there was a dialogue, a genuine dialogue beginning to start between a very difficult government and the people.”

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