Dialogue Among Key Myanmar Players Is First Step To Reconciliation: US Official
Burma poll ‘credible’ only with Suu Kyi
US pushes junta for release of Suu Kyi
U.S. will not lift Burma sanctions: report
Q+A – Why is the United States engaging with Myanmar?
Out of the Cold: Burma and US Take Tentative Steps
Aung San Suu Kyi comes out of detention to meet US diplomat
US ‘ready to improve Myanmar ties’
U.S. Diplomat Meets Myanmar’s Top Dissident and Urges Junta to Work With Her
Myanmar election needs Suu Kyi involvement, U.S. says
US offering golden opportunity to Burma, Asean: Surin
U.S. Officials In Myanmar Granted Access To Suu Kyi
Former Myanmar Foreign Minister Dies

Press Release 4Nov09

OpenLettertoKurtCampbell[1]
============ ========= ========= ======
November 05, 2009 21:56 PM
Dialogue Among Key Myanmar Players Is First Step To Reconciliation: US Official

BANGKOK, Nov 5 (Bernama) — An inclusive dialogue among all parties –including the government, the opposition and minorities — will be the first step to move forward for national conciliation in Myanmar, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported a senior American official as saying.

The United States stresses that a genuine dialogue among the key players within the country is the best way forward to national conciliation, said Scot Marciel, US Deputy Assistant Secretary, East Asian and Pacific Bureau, at a public forum in Bangkok after his two-day visit to Myanmar, the highest-level American visit in more than a decade.

Marciel and Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell met Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, senior government officials, Aung San Suu Kyi, and some representatives from minority groups during two-day trip to Naypyidaw and Yangon on Nov 3-4.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years.

“We are willing to move ahead in terms of bilateral relations,” Marcial said, “but we are only going to do that if there is real progress.”

The visit was an exploratory mission and the main purpose was to explain the US policy review to the key parties there and hear their views, Marciel said.

The move was to mark a new policy of engagement with Myanmar’s ruling military junta.

US officials urged the government to allow Suu Kyi to have regular access and engagement with her National League for Democracy (NLD) colleagues and others and highlighted concerns about the wide range human rights issues, including political prisoners and treatment of minority groups, Marciel said.

If the Myanmar government moves ahead with this election without participation by the parties and groups that won a substantial majority in the last election, it’s not credible, he said at the forum.

“If there is to be a credible election that fundamentally changes the dynamic in the country,” Marciel explained, “there needs to be dialogue and there needs to be participation.”

According to TNA the American policy review came after its previous sanctions approach had not achieved the desired results.

The US will maintain existing sanctions pending progress while beginning a pragmatic engagement with the government and continuing humanitarian assistance for people of the country, Marciel said.

Campbell was the highest ranking US official to visit Myanmar since Madeleine Albright went there as US ambassador to the United Nations in 1995 during Bill Clinton’s presidency.

The two-day trip followed discussions between US and Myanmar officials in New York in September.

– BERNAMA  http://www.bernama. com/bernama/ v5/newsworld. php?id=452891
============ ========= ========= ==
Burma poll ‘credible’ only with Suu Kyi
BEN DOHERTY, BANGKOK
November 6, 2009

JAILED Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi must be allowed to participate in next year’s elections for the world to accept the result, the US has said.

Speaking in Bangkok the day after meeting Ms Suu Kyi and key Burmese military government officials in Rangoon, the US ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel said the proposed elections could not be regarded as free and fair if Ms Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party were not allowed to participate.

”I think an election without Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD, it would be very hard to see that as credible,” he said. ”If the Government moves ahead with its election without participation by the parties and the groups that won substantial majority in the last election, it doesn’t matter what electoral commission they have, or how much media are there, it’s not going to be credible.”

The NLD, led by Ms Suu Kyi, won a massive majority in the last election held in Burma in 1990, securing nearly 80 per cent of the vote, but was prevented from taking power by the military.

Ms Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention or under house arrest. She is one of 2168 political prisoners held by the regime, according to the latest figures from the Assistant Association for Political Prisoners.

Mr Marciel said the US this week had again asked for Ms Suu Kyi’s release, but that he was not interested in promises of her release from the junta, only if they actually let her go free.

The meeting between US officials and key leaders in Burma is the first plank of the Obama Administration’ s new policy of ”pragmatic engagement” with Burma.

A nine-month policy review by the State Department this year found the previous policy of heavy sanctions against the regime had failed.
http://www.theage. com.au/world/ burma-poll- credible- only-with- suu-kyi-20091105 -i07i.html
============ ========= ========= =====
US pushes junta for release of Suu Kyi
BEN DOHERTY
November 6, 2009
BANGKOK: The US has stepped up pressure on the Burmese junta to reform, with a senior diplomat saying the jailed democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, must be allowed to take part in next year’s elections for the world to accept the result.

Speaking in Bangkok the day after meetings with Ms Suu Kyi and key junta officials, the US ambassador for ASEAN affairs, Scot Marciel, said the elections could not be regarded as free and fair if Ms Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy were not allowed to participate.

”I think an election without Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD, it would be very hard to see that as credible,” Mr Marciel said. ”If the Government moves ahead with its election without participation by the parties and the groups that won a substantial majority in the last election … it’s not going to be credible.”

The NLD won a massive majority in the last election held in Burma in 1990, securing nearly 80 per cent of the vote, but was prevented from taking power by the military.

Mr Marciel was questioned yesterday about the detail of his two-hour meeting with Ms Suu Kyi but said he would not speak on her behalf.

He also declined to comment on the reaction of the junta officials to the US message that it expected democratic reforms and “an inclusive dialogue” ahead of elections. He deflected questions about whether it was a setback that his delegation had not been allowed to meet the reclusive head of the junta, Senior General Than Shwe.

Mr Marciel stressed this week’s meetings were an ”exploratory visit”, and the first step in a long process yet to be mapped out.

”I don’t know what’s going to happen; I won’t try to anticipate,’ ‘ he said.

Mr Marciel said the US had again asked for Ms Suu Kyi’s release, but that he was not interested in promises that she will be released.

”It really doesn’t matter what the Burmese Government says so much as what it does,” he said. ”There’s been talk, hinting here and there. That’s not particularly useful. They release her or they don’t.

”We’re willing to take steps on our part to improve relations with Burma, but this will only be possible to the extent there is progress within the country.”   http://www.smh. com.au/world/ us-pushes- junta-for- release-of- suu-kyi-20091105 -i09t.html
============ ========= ======
U.S. will not lift Burma sanctions: report

The Associated Press

Date: Thursday Nov. 5, 2009 6:15 AM ET

BANGKOK — The United States, although embarking on a new policy of engagement, will not lift its sanctions on Myanmar unless its ruling generals make concrete progress toward democratic reform, a senior U.S. diplomat said Thursday.

U.S. Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel spoke after he and another State Department official completed the highest-ranking visit to Myanmar in 14 years, putting into motion the Obama administration’ s new policy of “pragmatic engagement” with the isolated country.

He made it clear that the stick would remain along with the new carrot, and that Washington would be closely watching the junta’s next moves.

“We are going to maintain our existing sanctions, pending progress. They are still a useful tool. We would certainly be looking at lifting sanctions if there is significant progress,” Marciel told a forum at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.

He and Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell held talks Tuesday and Wednesday with the ruling generals and had a rare meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been under house arrest for most of the last two decades.

Marciel, ambassador to the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, stressed the vital sign that positive change was being made would be a real dialogue among Myanmar’s antagonistic parties — the military ruler’s, Suu Kyi’s democracy parties and ethnic minority groups. Without this, he said, next year’s general election would not be credible.

“There is an opportunity for progress. The elections could be an opportunity, but only if they are done right,” he said.

The freeing of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and cessation of human rights abuses against minority groups would be other signals that would trigger a positive U.S. response, Marciel said.

“We are under no illusion. When you look at the record, past diplomatic efforts have not succeeded,” he said, noting that neither Washington’s sanctions nor ASEAN’s soft-line engagement had worked.

Campbell and Marciel are the highest-ranking American diplomats to visit Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1995, when then-U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright made an official visit.

It was the second time in a few months that the junta allowed Suu Kyi to meet with a senior American official. In August, visiting U.S. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia met her and also held talks with Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein and top junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

Suu Kyi, 64, has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years.

For years, the United States had isolated the junta diplomatically and applied political and economic sanctions, which have failed to force the generals to respect human rights or release jailed political activists. The Obama administration decided recently to step up diplomatic engagement as a way of promoting reforms.

Myanmar’s junta has praised the new U.S. policy, but shown no sign it intends to release Suu Kyi or initiate democratic and electoral reforms demanded by Suu Kyi’s party ahead of the elections.

Suu Kyi’s party has not yet decided whether to take part in the 2010 polls, which it says were set up under a constitution established last year by undemocratic means. The constitution includes provisions that would bar Suu Kyi from holding office and ensure the military a controlling stake in government.

Suu Kyi was recently sentenced to an additional 18 months of house arrest for briefly sheltering an uninvited American, in a trial that drew global condemnation. The sentence means she will not be able to participate in next year’s elections, the first in two decades.  http://www.ctv. ca/servlet/ ArticleNews/ story/CTVNews/ 20091105/ burma_sanctions_ 091105/20091105? hub=World
============ ========= ========= ==
Q+A – Why is the United States engaging with Myanmar?

Martin Petty

It would be very hard for elections next year in army-ruled Myanmar to be credible without detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s involvement, a top U.S. official said on Thursday. Skip related content

Deputy Assistant Secretary Scot Marciel made the comment after a two-day visit to Myanmar, the first in 14 years by a top U.S. delegation and part of Washington’s new policy of rapprochement with the reclusive junta.

WHY IS WASHINGTON ENGAGING WITH MYANMAR?

The Obama administration has recognised sanctions have failed and dialogue is needed to spur democratic reforms. It believes there is a better chance of progress if it engages and encourages the junta instead of disparaging the regime and ignoring it.

Washington is also concerned about reports of possible nuclear ties between North Korea and Myanmar, although it accepts there is so far scant evidence to prove this.

IS THERE A GEOPOLITICAL AGENDA?

Analysts and diplomats see another big factor behind the change in Washington’s stance: China. It is no secret the United States is concerned about China’s influence and wants to counter that by strengthening its presence and diplomacy in the region.

China may not be Myanmar’s greatest friend but it is its economic lifeline, pumping billions of dollars into the country and serving as a reliable political ally. Washington might not be be so comfortable with that.

China has begun building a crude oil port in Myanmar, part of a pipeline project aimed at cutting out the long detour oil cargoes take through the congested Malcca Strait. The nearly 1,000-km long pipeline is expected to provide Myanmar with at least $29 billion over the 30 years, according to rights groups.

“It’s is a big concern and geopolitically, it’s difficult to counter the effect of China,” said Sean Turnell, a Myanmar analyst at Australia’s Macquarie University.

“However, Burma sees China’s economic domination as a problem and it might want to show Beijing is not its only friend in town.”

WILL WASHINGTON LIFT SANCTIONS?

Not yet. While accepting sanctions have failed, the United States insists trade, banking and travel embargoes will remain in place, despite the softening of its stance towards Myanmar.

Marciel said sanctions could be reviewed, and the issue put before lawmakers, only if the generals showed significant progress towards reforms, which could be a long way off.

WHAT IS THE UNITED STATES ASKING OF THE JUNTA?

Its main objective is to encourage the generals to be more inclusive and to make sufficient concessions to allow all players to take part in the political process, which includes ethnic groups and opposition parties.

Washington has repeatedly asked for the estimated 2,000 political prisoners to be freed and allowed to take part in the polls, and wants Suu Kyi to be released, or at least allowed to meet with her party.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

Washington says it is taking a pragmatic, open-minded approach and has described this week’s visit by the fact-finding mission as “exploratory dialogue.”

Both sides have agreed to appoint a special envoy to continue the two-way dialogue, but it is perhaps too soon for higher-level meetings. This week’s snub by junta supremo, Senior General Than Shwe, was indicative of that.

Marciel said it was unlikely a meeting would take place between Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein and either U.S. President Barack Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the inaugural Association of South-East Asian Nations/United States summit in Singapore later this month.

(Editing by Jason Szep) http://uk.news. yahoo.com/ 22/20091105/ tpl-uk-myanmar- usa-qanda- 43a8d4f.html
============ ========= ========= ====
Out of the Cold: Burma and US Take Tentative Steps
Visits by US officials suggest formal dialogue with Burma is possible
David I. Steinberg
YaleGlobal , 4 November 2009

Rare appearance: Aung San Suu Kyi with US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, following a meeting in Yangon

WASHINGTON: With the trip this week by the first senior US executive branch official to Burma in about fifteen years, Washington has taken an important step. The policy gap between the US and Burma/Myanmar governments is acute, as it has hurt the interest of both sides. It has resulted in intensified Chinese penetration in Burma, affecting regional security and Sino-Indian relations. It solidified both Burmese fear and suspicion of US actions and objectives, and disdain and vituperation toward the country by both the US administration and Congress The current trip might help to explore whether the policy gap might be narrowed, and if so, how and when.

The trip this week by Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs and Scot Marciel, Ambassador to ASEAN, is in a sense a reconnaissance mission on narrowing the gap of hostility of two decades since the imposition of martial law in 1988. It follows the trip there of Senator Jim Webb (d. Virginia) in August. Both visits are products of serious and extensive US reviews of policy toward Burma/Myanmar. Both trips are welcome.

The United States isolated the Burmese junta: first, by refusing dialogue unless there was “regime change” by turning power over to the civilian opposition, whose most influential and noted participant is Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi; and secondly, by invoking a series of sanctions effectively limiting US private and public economic activities, official Burmese travel to the US, financial transactions, and other relations.

Even ASEAN, which admitted Myanmar to membership in 1997 over vociferous US objections, and whose hallmark is non-interference into the internal affairs of any member, has grown increasingly frustrated by the embarrassing actions of its most notorious member, and has sought the relaxation of the taut restrictive internal measures imposed on the population. Both efforts have failed to achieve even modest alleviation of the Burmese political, economic, and social problems.

During the 2008 US presidential campaign, Barack Obama called for dialogue with states negatively viewed by the US, and following his inauguration, the government began an extensive review of its policy toward Burma/Myanmar. For the first time in many years there was public dialogue and debate on Burma policy issues within Washington. But Burma was a “boutique issue,” as one democrat phrased it, and thus only a limited amount of political capital could be expended on altering policy by any administration, even one with a mandate for change. Feelers, however, were exchanged. Nuanced signals were sent by both the Burmese and the US that bridging the gap should be explored.

In March 2008, the Burmese foreign minister met with a mid-level US State Department official, an unprecedented modification of diplomatic protocol, and the US, through the Secretary of State, indicated that it was considering signing the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation that since 1997 the US had largely refused to consider because of Burma’s presence. It later did sign in July 2009.

The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi in the summer of 2009 for supposedly violating the rules of her house arrest by harboring the strange American John Yettaw who swam to her compound, slowed progress, and the guilty verdict caused international outrage. Senior General Than Shwe’s decision to halve her sentence was clearly designed to mitigate foreign criticism and to keep her under wraps through the elections scheduled for sometime in 2010.

Senator Jim Webb, chair of the Asian Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, traveled to Myanmar in August. He sought and achieved the release of the inscrutable John Yettaw; more importantly, he met both with General Than Shwe, head of state, and Aung San Suu Kyi, a feat which UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was not able to accomplish.

Toward the end of September 2009, Secretary Campbell met in New York with U Thaung, the Burmese Minister of Science and Technology and former ambassador to the US, and soon thereafter issued the administration’ s results of the policy study. It called for continued sanctions while at the same time fostering dialogue. Proponents of a new policy were disappointed that sanctions were not unilaterally lifted, while others wanted sanctions hardened. Two factors dictated policy. First, internal US political realities prevented too sudden a policy shift because Burma is a “boutique issue,” meaning that other, more important foreign and domestic crises require expenditure of greater administration political capital. Second, a major swing in US policies must be prompted by some significant amelioration of harsh junta rule in Burma. The US president can justify a policy shift, but only in response to significant Burmese reforms. The Burmese have been so informed by many unofficial foreign visitors for years.

Secretary Campbell said that negotiations would be a gradual and slow process – the goals of US policy remain constant; the tactics have changed. The policy requires the support of significant bipartisan support in the Congress. The Burmese also need publicly to justify changes autonomously and not as a result of US pressures.

The Burmese administration may say that the 2010 elections and the inauguration of the new constitution will institutionalize reforms, even as it entrusts the military with effective control over critical national issues. It will, as General Than Shwe said, bring about “discipline-flourish ing democracy.” Democracy, he said, is like a newly dug well; it doesn’t quickly yield clear water. The military feel they will be the democracy filter. Whether this will internally or externally satisfy those advocating reform are open questions.

Much will depend on the administration of the elections. Their international credibility is contingent on whether the National League for Democracy (NLD) is invited or allowed to run, whether campaigning is deemed open (involving easing of the censorship laws), and on the extent of regulations on party registration. There is little doubt that opposition parties will run and win seats, but the fairness of the process will be closely watched. What credibility the elections would have if the NLD were allowed to participate but refused, is a major issue; they might refuse if Aung San Suu Kyi continues to remain under house arrest. Many on the outside will look to the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, whom some will call to run, though that is highly doubtful.

What the US delegation to Naypyidaw will be able to accomplish is likely to be very limited. Observers should not look for a product; they should instead analyze the process, and then monitor those changes over time. But if changes occur, the US must be prepared to respond clearly, quickly, and forthrightly, also in stages, through modifications of its policies. The vested interests in the status quo in the US will complain, but in the interests of the Burmese people and the region, the gap should be closed. These two trips could significantly contribute to this possibility.

David I. Steinberg is Distinguished Professor of Asian Studies, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. His latest book is Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press).
Rights:Copyright © 2009 Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
http://yaleglobal. yale.edu/ content/out- cold-burma- and-us-take- tentative- steps
============ ========= ========= ==
Aung San Suu Kyi comes out of detention to meet US diplomat

By Andrew Buncombe
Thursday, 5 November 2009

Smiling and joking with photographers granted a rare opportunity to see her in public, the detained Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi held a two-hour meeting with a senior US diplomat in what may mark the beginning of an important shift in the relationship between the two countries.

The 64-year-old Nobel laureate, dressed in a pink traditional jacket, appeared upbeat when she emerged from the meeting at a lakeside hotel in Rangoon with the US diplomat Kurt Campbell and was asked to smile by press photographers. “Do I look pretty when I smile?” she asked, beaming for the assembled lenses, before being escorted to a car and driven back to the house where she remains under detention. “Hello to you all,” she added as she was driven off.

Mr Campbell, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, became the highest-ranking diplomat to meet the detained leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in 14 years. They greeted each other at the teak-floored Inya Lake Hotel with a handshake.Details of their discussions were not released.

Earlier in the day Mr Campbell had also met Burma’s Prime Minister, General Thein Sein, in the administrative capital, Naypyitaw. State television, which on Tuesday had ignored the arrival of the Americans, yesterday broadcast footage of both meetings. Last nighthe said in a statement that the US advocated “strong support for human rights, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners and the pursuit of democratic reform. ”

The visit is the fruit of a key policy shift by the Obama administration which has concluded that years of sanctions and isolation have not helped push Burma to change and gave rivals such as China and India an opportunity to pursue valuable energy deals. While the US says it will keep sanctions in place until it perceives genuine change, it also believes that engagement and interaction with the junta will provide more leverage.

Donald Seekins, a Burma expert at Japan’s Meio University, said: “If Washington cuts down on the rhetoric about Burma as an “outpost of tyranny”, increases engagement – such as the diplomat’s visit – and steps up humanitarian aid, the US might have significantly more influence with the army élite than in the past. But it is unlikely that such engagement would limit Chinese influence, since China and Burma have a symbiotic relationship that serves vital interests for both countries.”

The visit by Mr Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel, follows a meeting in New York in September with senior Burmese officials. As such, said the US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly, the two-day trip marked the second step in “the beginning of a dialogue with Burma”. He added: “They laid out the way we see this relationship going forward, and how we should structure this dialogue. But they were mainly in a listening mode.”

The junta is scheduled to hold controversial elections next year, a poll that many critics say is intended to cement the role of the military which has ruled the country since 1962. The NLD has said it cannot take part in the election under current conditions, including the ongoing detention of more than 2,000 political prisoners.

In recent weeks, however, senior Burmese officials have been suggesting that the party’s detained leader could play a role in fostering reconciliation and that the conditions of her detention could even be relaxed. Whether such talk is any more than rhetoric designed for Burma’s international critics remains to be seen.

Read more: http://www.belfastt elegraph. co.uk/news/ world-news/ aung-san- suu-kyi-comes- out-of-detention -to-meet- us-diplomat- 14551935. html#ixzz0VzZLiX Hn
============ ========= ========= ====
Aljazira.net
US ‘ready to improve Myanmar ties’

Washington is ready to improve relations with Myanmar if its military leaders take concrete steps towards restoring democracy, a senior US diplomat has said.

Kurt Campbell, the assistant US secretary of state, made the offer after becoming the highest-ranking US official to visit the military-ruled country in 14 years.

Campbell met detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday, and also held talks with the country’s ruling generals, urging them to respect the human rights of their people and to open dialogue with the opposition.

He also urged the military government to allow Aung San Suu Kyi more freedom to meet with people concerned with the political process, particularly senior leaders from her National League for Democracy (NLD).

Speaking at the airport in the former capital of Yangon, Campbell said the US “reaffirmed our commitment to a dialogue among the government, the opposition and ethnic groups.”

The goal of such a dialogue, he added, “would be national reconciliation and a fully inclusive political process in Burma”.

‘First step’

Later, speaking to reporters after his arrival in Tokyo, he said his visit to Myanmar was a “first step” in improving relations with Myanmar’s military rulers.

Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel, are the highest-ranking American diplomats to visit Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1995, when Madeleine Albright, the then-UN ambassador, made an official visit.

Details of Campbell’s talks with Aung San Suu Kyi were not revealed, but the meeting offered the Nobel laureate her first trip in years outside the confines of her home and a nearby government guesthouse, where she has met UN and government officials in the past.

The 64-year-old has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest and for shorter periods at the Insein prison in Yangon.

Aung San Suu Kyi also welcomed new US moves to engage with Myanmar’s military government.

In late September she wrote a letter to Myanmar’s top ruler, Senior General Than Shwe, to offer her co-operation in getting Western sanctions lifted after years of backing harsh measures against the ruling generals.

The generals granted the Nobel peace laureate two rare meetings with a government minister and allowed her to meet Western diplomats last month.

Thein Sein, Myanmar’s prime minister, told Asian leaders at a summit in Thailand last month that the government sees a role for Aung San Suu Kyi in fostering reconciliation ahead of the promised elections next year, but it was not clear what form this would take.  http://english. aljazeera. net//news/ asia-pacific/ 2009/11/20091153 592697776. html
============ ========= ========= ==
U.S. Diplomat Meets Myanmar’s Top Dissident and Urges Junta to Work With Her
By THOMAS FULLER
Published: November 4, 2009

BANGKOK ­ A senior American diplomat who completed a rare visit to Myanmar on Wednesday said that Washington would improve relations with the nation if its military government embraced reconciliation with Myanmar’s democratic opposition.

“We stated clearly that the United States is prepared to take steps to improve the relationship, but that the process must be based on reciprocal and concrete efforts by the Burmese government,” the diplomat, Kurt M. Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said in a statement before boarding a plane for Thailand.

Mr. Campbell is the highest-ranking American official to hold substantive talks in Myanmar, formerly Burma, in more than a decade, and he described his trip as an “exploratory mission.”

After a two-hour meeting on Wednesday with the leader of the country’s beleaguered democracy movement, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Mr. Campbell urged the government to allow her “more frequent interactions” with members of her party, the National League for Democracy, which won elections in 1990 that were ignored by the ruling generals.

Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi has been held under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years and is allowed only infrequent meetings with anyone outside her home. Mr. Campbell is the most senior American representative she has met since 1995.

Mr. Campbell’s trip is part of a broader policy review announced by the Obama administration to engage Myanmar after years of diplomatic isolation and sanctions. American officials say they have no immediate plans to lift the sanctions, which ban most trade and investment in the country by American companies.

The European Union also imposes wide-ranging sanctions on the military government, but Myanmar’s neighbors, including Thailand, China and India, trade and deal freely with the country, weakening the effectiveness of the Western sanctions.

Mr. Campbell talked with the prime minister, Gen. Thein Sein, but in what appeared to be a snub common among visiting dignitaries, he did not meet Senior Gen. Than Shwe, the junta’s leader.

A recent exception occurred when Senator Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat who is a leading advocate for revising American policy toward Myanmar, visited in August and met with both Gen. Than Shwe and Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi.

Mr. Campbell also held talks with the minister of science and technology and said he expected Myanmar to live up to its United Nations obligations on “proliferation,” probably a reference to the country’s nuclear ambitions, which most analysts say they believe are in a nascent stage.

Mr. Campbell said the United States was committed to seeing “national reconciliation and a fully inclusive political process,” a variation on the oft-repeated pleas of United Nations officials and Western diplomats.

Skeptics of the American attempts at reconciliation, including many members of the Burmese exile community in Thailand and the United States, point to the numerous failed attempts at engagement since the generals ignored the 1990 elections.

The military has announced elections for next year. But many analysts are skeptical that the military is prepared to give up significant political control.
http://www.nytimes. com/2009/ 11/05/world/ asia/05myanmar. html?ref= us
============ ========= ========= ==
Myanmar election needs Suu Kyi involvement, U.S. says
Thu Nov 5, 2009 4:53am EST
By Martin Petty

BANGKOK (Reuters) – It would be “very hard” for next year’s elections in Myanmar to be legitimate without the involvement of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a senior United States official said on Thursday .

Deputy Assistant Secretary Scot Marciel, returning from a landmark two-day visit to the army-ruled country, said the release of the National League for Democracy (NLD) leader and other political detainees was critical for the polls to be considered fair and credible.

“I think an election without Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD, it would be very hard to see that as credible,” Marciel told reporters in Bangkok.

The NLD, denied the chance to rule after a landslide win in the last elections in 1990, has yet to confirm whether it will participate in the polls.

“In the end, it’s up to Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD to make that call,” Marciel said.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner held captive for 14 of the last 20 years, was offered a rare chance to meet NLD committee members on Wednesday, but declined because its detained vice-chairman, Tin Oo, was excluded, state television reported.

Marciel declined comment on that development.

He stated repeatedly during a one-hour forum that Washington’s objective was to encourage dialogue between the various camps inside Myanmar.

“I frankly cannot see how there can be a credible election that brings legitimacy without inclusive participation and I don’t see how that can happen without a dialogue,” he said.

EXPLORATORY MISSION

The U.S. visit, the first of its kind in 14 years, comes as part of a new policy of engagement by the Obama administration and was described as an “exploratory mission” by Washington.

Marciel reiterated that the U.S. had no immediate plans to lift wide-ranging sanctions on Myanmar but said the embargoes would be reviewed, depending on reforms.

“A policy that relies heavily on sanctions without dialogue has not succeeded but sanctions are still a useful tool,” he said.

“We do not think it is appropriate or wise to lift sanctions now in the absence of progress, but we certainly would be looking at them if there is progress … The purpose of sanctions is to achieve an end.”

The delegation met senior junta officials, ethnic groups, the NLD and Suu Kyi during the visit. Marciel did not elaborate on what was discussed, or why they failed to meet junta supremo Than Shwe, saying only: “It’s early in the process.”

Marciel urged the military, which has ruled the former Burma since a 1962 coup, to be more inclusive and not to fear the prospect of democratic reform.

“This is a country moving steadily backwards for a long time. There is a way ahead, but it will involve change and there cannot be progress without change,” he said.

He urged the international community to judge Myanmar on results, not on pledges, adding the United States was taking a “pragmatic approach” and did not expect immediate progress.

“We’re going into this with eyes wide open, we’re not under any illusions and we’re aware that success is far from guaranteed,” he said. “We will proceed for a while and if it doesn’t work, we’ll try something new.

“We should be very humble and not assume we have the answers until we have results.” (Editing by Alan Raybould and Jerry Norton)
http://www.reuters. com/article/ topNews/idUSTRE5 A25OM20091105? feedType= RSS&feedName=topNews&pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel =0&sp=true
============ ========= =======
US offering golden opportunity to Burma, Asean: Surin
By The Nation
Published on November 5, 2009

“This is a seismic change for the region’s diplomacy,” Surin said in reference to the two-day visit by Kurt Campbell, assistant state-secretary for East Asia and Pacific affairs and the US ambassador to the Asean Scott Marciel.

He said the visit opened up a wide horizon of potential opportunities for both Asean and Burma.

“We hope that the Burmese leadership and the opposition will recognise that this a golden opportunity for all of us in the region,” he said. However, he pointed out that it takes two to tango.

“Now that a space has been opened up and some obstructions have been removed, I hope all key players on the stalemate in the game of chess over Burma issues will adjust their strategies and make the right moves to go forward,” he said.

The Asean chief was referring to the latest moves by Washington to relax some of the restrictions against Burma put in place by previous US administrations.

“I have told Prime Minister Thien Sein that all Asean member states would be ready to extend their hands in whatever form appropriate to make sure that the planned election next year is accepted by the Burmese people and leads to a genuine reconciliation,” he said.   http://www.nationmu ltimedia. com/2009/ 11/05/national/ national_ 30115887. php
============ ========= =
U.S. Officials In Myanmar Granted Access To Suu Kyi
by The Associated Press
November 4, 2009

The highest-ranking American diplomat to visit Myanmar in 14 years offered improved relations Wednesday if its military regime moves toward democracy, putting into action the Obama administration’ s new policy of engagement with the isolated country.

Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke after both talks with the ruling generals and a rare meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been under house arrest for most of the last two decades.

Campbell called on the military — which has ruled the impoverished country since 1962 — to open a dialogue with the opposition and ethnic minority groups, which are seeking a measure of autonomy. He also urged the military government to allow Suu Kyi more freedom to meet with people concerned with the political process, particularly her own party’s senior executives.

The goals of the new U.S. policy are “strong support for human rights, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners and the promotion of democratic reform,” Campbell declared to reporters at the end of his two-day visit. He met Wednesday morning with Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein.

Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel, are the highest-ranking American diplomats to visit Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1995, when then-U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright made an official visit.

It was the second time in a few months that the junta allowed Suu Kyi to meet with a senior American official. In August, visiting U.S. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia met her and also held talks with Thein Sein and top junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

Suu Kyi, 64, has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years and until recently was allowed regular visits only from her doctor, and very occasional ones from visiting U.N. emissaries seeking to mediate with the government.

For years, the United States had isolated the junta diplomatically and applied political and economic sanctions, which have failed to force the generals to respect human rights or release jailed political activists. The Obama administration decided recently to step up diplomatic engagement as a way of promoting reforms.

However, while U.S. officials are now sitting down with the generals, Washington has said it will maintain the sanctions until talks result in change.

Myanmar’s reclusive ruling generals rarely speak to reporters. However, state television, which on Tuesday ignored the Americans’ visit, broadcast footage of Campbell’s meetings with both Suu Kyi and the prime minister.

Campbell, the top State Department official for East Asia, said he told junta officials that the U.S. “is prepared to take steps to improve the relationship but that process must be based on reciprocal and concrete efforts by the Burmese government.” Washington refers to Myanmar as Burma, the name by which it was known before being changed by the junta.

Myanmar’s junta has praised the new U.S. policy, but shown no sign it intends to release Suu Kyi or initiate democratic and electoral reforms demanded by Suu Kyi’s party ahead of elections planned for next year.

Earlier Wednesday, Campbell greeted Suu Kyi with a handshake after she was driven to his lakeside hotel in Yangon, where they met privately for two hours, U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Mei said.

Dressed in a pink traditional Burmese jacket, she was upbeat as she emerged from the hotel.

“Hello to you all,” she said to photographers before getting into the car that whisked her back to her tightly guarded home. Campbell did not divulge details of their conversation.

Other senior members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party met with Campbell afterward, and asked about her health.

============ ========= ========= ====
Former Myanmar Foreign Minister Dies
Thin Set Kyaw shein (thin)
Former Myanmar foreign minister Win Aung died in Insein prison, Yangon, where he was serving a seven-year sentence for corruption, police confirmed on Thursday.
Win Aung, 65, died Wednesday morning from a cerebral hemorrhage, close friends of the former minister said.
He served as foreign minister and the civilized face for Myanmar’s pariah military regime from 1998 to 2004.
In 2004, he was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to seven years in jail for selling cars imported tax-free for ministry personnel.
Win Aung was a former member of the Military Intelligence and a close associate of Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt, who fell from grace in November 2004, resulting in a purge of his proteges that included the former foreign minister.

2009/11/05 ?? 10:52 http://english. ohmynews. com/ArticleView/ article_sangview .asp?menu= c10400&no=385773&rel_no=1

He told them Suu Kyi “is the most active and energetic 64-year old woman he had ever met,” said party spokesman Khin Maung Swe.

Suu Kyi’s party has not yet decided whether to take part in the 2010 polls, which it says were set up under a constitution established last year by undemocratic means. The constitution includes provisions that would bar Suu Kyi from holding office and ensure the military a controlling stake in government.

Suu Kyi was recently sentenced to an additional 18 months of house arrest for briefly sheltering an uninvited American, in a trial that drew global condemnation. The sentence means she will not be able to participate in next year’s elections, the first in two decades.

But the junta has made some conciliatory gestures, such as loosening the terms of Suu Kyi’s house arrest and allowing her more meetings with visitors.

Campbell was continuing talks he began in September in New York with senior Myanmar officials, which were the first such high-level contact in nearly a decade.

Campbell said he emphasized that Myanmar “should abide by U.N. resolutions with regards to proliferation.” He did not elaborate, but was apparently referring to arms purchases from North Korea. There is also some speculation, though no evidence has been made public, that Myanmar is seeking to develop nuclear weapons with North Korea’s help.  http://www.npr. org/templates/ story/story. php?storyId= 120105218&ft=1&f=1001