Washington: Stating that the military junta in Myanmar is on the wrong side of history, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed hope that the Obama administration, which is adopting the policy of engagement, would be able to influence the military rulers to meet the aspirations of its people.
"I am hoping that we're able to influence the leadership in Burma to begin an internal dialogue inside their own country, bringing the opposition parties, bringing the ethnic minorities who have been so oppressed, beginning a conversation that could create the conditions for free, fair and credible elections, which they are planning to have next year," Hillary said yesterday at the University of St Tomas in Manila, Philippines.
"There is no doubt in my mind that the leadership in Burma is on the wrong side of history. It's just a question of how long they stay there and whether they can be nudged and encouraged to move toward more freedom and opportunity for their own people," Hillary said.
Hillary said the Obama administration has been in office for just nine months and during this period it has tried to reverse some of the policies that were not very productive that were really putting US in a wrong light.
"Secondly, the fact that unlike in previous visits, our ability to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi was unmonitored, unsupervised for two hours, which was quite unusual and very helpful; the fact that the diplomats were able to meet with representatives of the political opposition and ethnic groups. It was a series of meetings that were more far-ranging and more open than we have seen in reports from others who've gone," Hillary said.
Meanwhile, White House yesterday said US President Barack Obama would address the issue of Myanmar in his speech in Tokyo today. "The President will be able to address in particular the question of Burma in his speech as well, as that's been a leading human rights concern in the region for some time," Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Advisor for Strategic Communications told reporters in Tokyo where Obama is travelling right now.
The White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, however, refrained from giving any answer when he was asked about Obama ending up in a group picture with ASEAN leaders, which also includes Myanmar's Prime Minister, attending the US-ASEAN Summit.
"I don't want to comment on photos that haven't happened yet. I mean, he is meeting with the ASEAN 10 and he'll speak to his Burma policy tomorrow, and we will leave it at that," Rhodes said.
Secondly, the fact that unlike in previous visits, our ability to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi was unmonitored, unsupervised for two hours, which was quite unusual and very helpful; the fact that the diplomats were able to meet with representatives of the political opposition and ethnic groups.
“It was a series of meetings that were more far-ranging and more open than we have seen in reports from others who've gone," Hillary said.
Bureau Report