U.S. upgrading ties with Myanmar

Myanmar

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Local reaction

Burmese residents optimistic
Local residents with ties to Myanmar were already planning to celebrate Friday’s release of political prisoners when they heard that the U.S. and Myanmar plan to exchange ambassadors.
“People are very happy,” said Minn Myint Nan Tin, executive director of the Burmese Advocacy Center in Fort Wayne. “Actually, there are a number of emails going back and forth, and people are very excited. We’re going to do some events as more student leaders are released. We’ll do some celebrations.”
Minn Myint Nan Tin said the release of prisoners and other recent events are being taken as a sign that the country is becoming safe for them to visit. Allen County is home to about 3,800 residents of Burmese descent.
While the local Burmese community remains cautious, most people are optimistic, she said. “This is quite positive, because we never see the military regime sit down with the media and take questions. This is the first time we’ve seen (the government) taking questions from public media.”
– Jeff Wiehe, The Journal Gazette

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday the United States will send an ambassador to Myanmar for the first time in two decades, restoring full diplomatic relations now that the long-isolated country has released hundreds of political prisoners and made other reforms.

Clinton’s announcement that the two countries will exchange ambassadors came on a day of celebration in the streets of Myanmar after President Thein Sein issued pardons and freed 651 detainees, including some of its most famous political inmates.

President Obama, in a statement, described the pardons as “a substantial step forward for democratic reform.”

The U.S. decision follows a landmark visit by Clinton to the repressive country in December as a way to deepen engagement and encourage more openness there, although Washington will be maintaining hard-hitting economic and political sanctions for the time being.

As it looks to step up U.S. involvement across the Asia-Pacific region, the Obama administration has shifted from Washington’s long-standing policy of isolating Myanmar’s military government because of its poor human rights record.

The highest-level U.S. diplomat based in Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been a charge d’affaires rather than an ambassador.

Washington downgraded its representation in 1990, when opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party swept elections but was barred from power by the military.

Myanmar’s own diplomatic representation in Washington is also currently a step below the level of ambassador.

Clinton said the U.S. would identify further steps it could take to support reforms but gave no specifics. Among the other recent moves she commended by the government was its reaching a cease-fire with the Karen National Union, a long-running ethnic insurgency.

The U.S. sanctions against Myanmar heavily restrict trade, investment and foreign aid.

The Myanmar government is still dominated by its army, but it has freed Suu Kyi and begun a dialogue with her, and it has eased restrictions on media and trade unions.

Myanmar

U.S. upgrading ties with Myanmar

Nations to exchange ambassadors after 651 detainees freed