The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Activists, Ethnic Leaders Cry Neglect During Obama Visit
- Obama Lends Ear to Burma’s Youth
- Obama’s Second Burma Visit Falls Flat
- Students Protest Education Law in Downtown Rangoon
- Lower House Chairman Rejects PR System Proposal
- Obama, Suu Kyi Pledge Solidarity Amid ‘Bumpy Patch’ in Reforms
- Burma Military Should Have Less Power: Obama
- Rangoon Officials Unimpressed With Obama Graffiti
- Obama Visits Site of Burmese Independence in Rangoon
- China Raised Issue of US Spy Flights During Military Talks: Pentagon
- US, Japan, Denmark Promote Labor Rights in Burma
- China Offers Asean Friendship, Loans as South China Sea Tension Bubbles
- Obama Optimistic on Change in Burma, More Work to be Done
- Burma Govt Shows Illusion of Diversity at Asia Summit
- Tepid Expressions of Concern on Int’l Issues, As Asia Summit Wraps Up
- In Remote Karenni State, a Place of Diversity and Learning
- A Look Back: Five Years of Burma-US Relations
| Activists, Ethnic Leaders Cry Neglect During Obama Visit Posted: 14 Nov 2014 09:45 AM PST  President Barack Obama meets with 15 representatives from Burmese civil society organizations at the US Embassy in Rangoon on Friday. (Photo courtesy of Nay Myo Lin) RANGOON — Prominent activists and ethnic leaders in Burma have criticized US President Barack Obama for neglecting the complexities of national reconciliation and peace. On his second visit to Rangoon, President Obama met with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, members of local civil society organizations and members of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative—however, longstanding democracy activists and eminent ethnic leaders were not included in his itinerary. "I was surprised and couldn't understand why he didn't meet with us," said Ko Ko Gyi, one of the leaders of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society. "I wonder if Mr. Obama was well informed about the realities of the country's situation, since he did not hear from the people who are playing important roles in national reconciliation, peace and ethnic issues." "We have to question, what is the policy of the Obama administration on Burma, and whether he is aware of the reality of press freedom, and the situation of ethnic people in conflict areas," he added. Obama's second visit to the country has been criticized in some quarters for the United States' closer relationship with President Thein Sein's government and optimistic rhetoric on the present state of the country. "All of us are thanking the US government for their support of the democratization of the country … but he has disappointed us by showing a closer relationship with the government and neglecting to hear from us," said Ko Ko Gyi. He said that the country is in a sensitive situation as Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) struggles to amend the 2008 military-drafted Constitution as next year's national election draws near. "We felt outcast," said Aye Thar Aung, a member of the Arakan National Party's central executive committee. "All of the people who once risked their lives in democratic struggles were neglected. What he has done has just been to gain favor from the Burmese government. We feel that he no longer has an interest in ethnic issues." Civil society groups who work with internally displaced persons and refugees in conflict areas said that they were saddened after being excluded from a civil society organization meeting with the president on Friday. "We could have had a chance to talk face to face about war refugees and the real situation in conflict-ravaged areas. We just feel sorry that we could not tell him about these," said May Sabe Phyu, cofounder of the Kachin Peace Network. "If I had a chance, I would have liked to ask him whether he actually had trust in the transition of the country," she added. After meeting with Suu Kyi at her home, President Obama met with 15 representatives from civil society organizations at the US Embassy in Rangoon. Kyaw Thu, director of the Paung Ku NGO forum, said that the meeting featured representatives from organizations working in the fields of gender equality, women's rights, ethnic conflicts, labor rights, election monitoring and the media. He said that he discussed the religious and communal conflicts that have plagued Burma since mid-2012, violence that some fear could flare up again and affect plans to hold free and fair elections next year. "I'm satisfied with today's meeting as I got chance to talk about what I wanted. I hope our discussions will be put into consideration when they decide future policy," he said. Bo Bo from the Dawei Development Association (DDA) said that although the meeting was short, guests had a chance to exchange opinions with the president. "We urged him to use a carrot and stick approach when they consider their policy of engagement," he said. Aung Myo Min, director of Equality Myanmar, said that invitees to the US Embassy had a chance to tell the real situation of the country. "We are quite satisfied that we were able to interact with him and tell him the truth about human rights, women's rights, ethnic issues, freedom of the press and the transition of the country," he said. "I told him not to prioritize investment in the country, but instead to promote human rights and freedom first. He also assured us that US policy is to put human rights first," he added. The post Activists, Ethnic Leaders Cry Neglect During Obama Visit appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Obama Lends Ear to Burma’s Youth Posted: 14 Nov 2014 07:25 AM PST  US President Barack Obama spoke with young Asean leaders at a town hall meeting at Rangoon University on Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON —"You're always popular in someone else's country," US President Barack Obama told a beaming audience of Asean's young and ambitious at a town hall-style meeting in Rangoon on Friday. Hundreds of young civic leaders, students and activists welcomed Obama to Rangoon University, where he fielded questions about education, regional integration, climate change, national identity and what he would do "if [he] were the president of Myanmar." Most attendees were delegates of the White House-backed Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative (YSEALI), who were invited by the president at the end of his second visit to Burma in the past two years. While the enthusiastic and elegantly dressed delegateswarmly greeted the president, many made sure to register their disappointment in what they viewed as America's "soft stance" toward Burma's leadership. "Why is America so soft on the issue of minority rights in Burma?" asked WaiWai Nu, a Rohingya activist, former political prisoner and member of YSEALI. The president spoke at length about the importance of distinguishing between national and ethnic identity, but he made no mention of the country's most contentious designation, Rohingya. "Of course I'm disappointed," said Wai Wai Nu, "but I understand his difficulties." Wai Wai Nu, who at 27 is already an award-winning peace advocate, urged the United States to "re-evaluate its policy toward Burma" with a particular focus on human rights and equal access to citizenship. Several of her peers expressed similar views. Khun Kit San, an ethnic Shan activist, greeted Obama with a banner reading "reform is fake." One attendee, when given the president's ear, handed him a two-page letter penned by "Young People from Myanmar" denouncing Burma's reforms as fraudulent and driven by capitalist interests. Obama did acknowledge that "some reforms haven't come quickly enough," but urged patience among the country's future leaders. "The most important challenge is completing the transition to democracy," he said, reiterating the importance of free, fair and timely elections, amending the Constitution and instating laws to protect press freedoms. Friday's town hall meeting was the last stop on Obama's second visit to Burma as head of state, devoting a full hour and a half to young intellectuals from all 10 memberstates of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). When Obama visited in 2012, he also made an historic appearance at Rangoon University, which had been shuttered for most of the past two decades because of its history as a breeding ground for dissidence under the former military regime. Obama arrived in Naypyidaw on Wednesday to attend the Asean and East Asia summits. On Friday, Obama met with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at her home in Rangoon, where they pledged continued cooperation through Burma's long and turbulent transition to democracy. The post Obama Lends Ear to Burma's Youth appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Obama’s Second Burma Visit Falls Flat Posted: 14 Nov 2014 06:01 AM PST  Young Burmese protestors hold placards during US President Barack Obama's town hall meeting at Rangoon University's Diamond Jubilee Hall. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — US President Barack Obama's reading of Burma's current political situation is markedly different from what many Burmese people have perceived over the last two years. "In part because of President Thein Sein's leadership, the democratization process in Myanmar [Burma] is real," Obama said at a joint press conference with Thein Sein on Thursday. The majority of pro-democracy groups and parliamentarians, including prominent opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who held discussions with Obama for an hour on Friday, didn't expect to hear such a rosy view. Many of them found it disappointing. "That's absolutely wrong and an insult for Burmese people," said Yan Myo Thein, a Burmese political analyst based in Rangoon. Others I spoke with following Thursday's press conference shared a similar opinion. Bo Kyi, secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), said Obama's endorsement of the reform process was out of touch with reality. "What Obama said is wrong. Burma today is not even in transition yet. It was a totalitarian state. Today, it is a constitutional totalitarian state," he told me over the phone. Obama received a similar message directly from the people he met in Rangoon on Friday. When the US president met a group of young Burmese at Rangoon University's Diamond Jubilee Hall, some stood holding posters at the back of the room that read "Reform is fake," "Illusion!" and "Change?" Long before Obama's latest trip to Asia, many Burmese activists, politicians, intellectuals, social workers and other informed locals had voiced concern that the Obama administration was pulling closer to Burma's quasi-civilian government and away from opposition groups.  Kyaw Zwa Moe is editor (English Edition) of Exactly one week before Obama arrived in Burma on Wednesday, Suu Kyi held a rare press conference (for the first time this year) at her party's headquarters in Rangoon. The National League for Democracy (NLD) leader told the media: "We do think that there have been times when the US government has been too optimistic about the reform process started by the present government, but if they really studied the situation in this country they will know that this reform process started stalling early last year." "In fact, I'd like to challenge those who talk so much about the reform process, and ask what significant reform steps have been taken in the last 24 months?" she said, adding, "That is something the US should think about seriously as a country." It was a crystal clear message from the country's most popular pro-democracy leader, who Obama said once inspired him. But on this occasion, Obama simply seemed to ignore her pointed message to the US government. We Burmese don't expect miracles from the reform process that started in 2011. We just want to see gradual progress towards a democratic and prosperous nation. But the Burmese people haven't seen any genuine progress toward this end in recent years. Many serious issues remain unaddressed—from ethnic conflict and the continued imprisonment of political activists to human rights violations against minorities and restrictions on freedom of the press. We don't see any possibility that the current undemocratic Constitution will be amended, though pro-democracy groups led by Suu Kyi's NLD and the prominent 88 Generation Peace and Open Society have managed to obtain 5 million signatures on a petition calling for constitutional change. The peace process isn't progressing smoothly because some ethnic armed groups simply don't trust the government or the military, which have failed to promise a measure of autonomy to ethnic groups that have fought for decades. Among the Burmese public, the main question regarding the reform process is simply whether Thein Sein's government has the genuine political will to institute real reform. Burmese people who were convinced of the reform process back in 2011 and 2012 have now begun to lose their initial optimism. Like other leaders around the world, Obama seems convinced of the Burmese government's reformist credentials. This is not surprising, as Naypyidaw has become adept at talking the talk on democratic reform. Obama managed to thrill many Burmese during his first visit to the country in 2012, but has fallen short this time. This was almost the last chance for him, as president, to demonstrate support for the pro-democracy movement that the United States has backed ever since the military regime staged a coup in 1988. Obama's latest message was simply an endorsement of Thein Sein's administration. While the Burmese government was no doubt pleased, pro-democracy groups, including Suu Kyi, prominent 88 Generation groups members and ethnic leaders, would have been very disappointed. The post Obama's Second Burma Visit Falls Flat appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Students Protest Education Law in Downtown Rangoon Posted: 14 Nov 2014 05:54 AM PST  (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — More than 350 students protested against the National Education Law in downtown Rangoon on Friday, continuing their months-long campaign against the controversial law, which they say is undemocratic and fails to guarantee independence for educational institutions. A product of cooperation between Burmese student organizations from across the country, the demonstrators gathered in front of Maha Bandoola Park to demand a radical overhaul of the law, which was passed in September. s Nan Lin, a representative of the Confederation of University Student Unions (CUSU) and one of the protest organizers, told The Irrawaddy that the protest aimed "to improve the education system for the next generation and to improve the country." The demonstrations were led by the CUSU, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) and the Middle Myanmar Students Union, with support from the Ethnic Students Union. A Nationwide Students Emergency Conference with the student representatives was held on Nov. 12 and 13, which culminated in the organization of a 15-member body to plan Friday's protest. Protestors said that the current law would be ineffective at raising education standards in Burma, restrict local autonomy in favor of centralized government control of education institutions and prevent the official recognition of student unions. Student organizations believe that the formation of a National Education Commission will prevent local autonomy over teacher hires, student enrolments and curriculum formation, contrary to principles of democratic management. The National Network for Education Reform (NNER), an alliance of civil society groups and education experts, is outraged by the Education Law, after the government ignored a comprehensive study by NNER outlining recommendations for education reform. Teachers' unions are also up in arms over the law and have vowed to cooperate with the students in their campaign. Kyaw Ko Ko, the chairman of the ABFSU, told The Irrawaddy that Friday's protest marked the start of a continuous fight to reform the National Education Law . "The ABFSU and CUSU will work together to speak out in the same voice, under the same flag—we will continue to fight until we win the war [against the law ],"he said. Kyaw Ko Ko said that a primary concern raised against the legislation is the formation of a National Education Commission, which would be comprised of ministers and government officials but would leave no space for student input and would fortify centralized government control of higher education. He added that organizers did not intentionally plan the protest to coincide with US President Barack Obama's official visit to Rangoon, but student leaders would always be ready to raise awareness around education issues and the plight of students. The National Education Bill was passed by Burma's Parliament during a legislative session in July and sent back to the floor by President Thein Sein, who suggested 25 amendments to the legislation including a postponement of full implementation to 2027. Despite strong criticism, Parliament passed the Education Law in September, approving 19 of the president's amendments and rejecting six, including postponement of the law's implementation. In the coming months, Parliament will discuss a number of so-called "sectoral laws" that will supplement the Education Law and outline further details of education reform. Under previous decades of military rule, Burma's education suffered due to a lack of funding and strict junta controls, leading to a demise of the education system, once considered among the best in Asia. The post Students Protest Education Law in Downtown Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Lower House Chairman Rejects PR System Proposal Posted: 14 Nov 2014 05:32 AM PST  Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — In a surprise decision, Burma's Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann on Friday rejected a proposal to change the country's electoral system from the current First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) to a Proportional Representation (PR) system, according to Lower House lawmakers. Shwe Mann told MPs he would not bring the proposal to a vote because changing the electoral system to PR was considered unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, adding that he had sent a letter to the court's judge to establish this. "The process was unusual. There was no vote to change the current FPTP election system," Min Thu, a MP with the National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy. Pe Than, a lawmaker with Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, said, "The chairman of the Lower House rejected the PR system as it is against the Constitutional Court ['s position]. Today, the chairman decided that we will not practice the PR system. So, it is the end of the PR system in the Lower House." He added that opinions among lawmakers in the Lower House had been divided, with some viewing it as an improvement. Under a PR system, the number of Parliament seats won by each party in is proportionate to the number of votes received. Under the current FPTP system, the winning lawmaker in each constituency takes a seat to represent the whole area in Parliament. In recent months, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)-dominated Houses of Parliament set up committees to change the voting system to PR, a move that was fiercely opposed by Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD and some of the ethnic minority parties. The proposal was first brought forward by the National Democratic Force, a small party aligned with the USDP, and appeared to be gaining support from the USDP. Following opposition from ethnic MPs, a Lower House committee recently recommended introducing PR only in central Burma's divisions and keeping the FPTP system in the ethnic states. The NLD feared the USDP was using the switch to PR as a way to dilute support for the popular opposition party and reduce its chances of obtaining a large majority following the 2015 elections, which are supposed to be the first free and fair vote in Burma in 25 years. Phyo Min Thein, another NLD MP, welcomed the fact that Shwe Mann, who is also USDP chairman, rejected the PR proposal in the Lower House. "This [decision] will be an advantage for NLD in the coming elections," he said. "Honestly, we had concerns over sharing the seats [under PR]." During a rally for constitutional reform in Karenni State last week, Suu Kyi said, "We believe that this system is not appropriate yet for our country… By accepting the proportional representation system, it would spread out the votes of the people and it seems designed not to make our party win the election." The Upper House will now consider the proposal to change the electoral system. USDP Upper House MP Hla Swe said he had no particular position on the proposal, "I don't have any concern with both systems. [PR] is just for the parties which do not have confident for getting all votes from the people [to win a constituency]," he said, adding that he would abstain if the proposal came to a vote. Additional reporting by Saw Yan Naing and Lawi Weng. The post Lower House Chairman Rejects PR System Proposal appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Obama, Suu Kyi Pledge Solidarity Amid ‘Bumpy Patch’ in Reforms Posted: 14 Nov 2014 03:33 AM PST  US President Barack Obama and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi hold a joint press conference at the latter's residence in Rangoon on Friday. (Photo: Andrew D. Kaspar / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — US President Barack Obama visited the home of Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday to offer support for a reform process that the opposition leader said has hit a "bumpy patch," a day after he met with Burmese government leaders to nudge them toward further democratization in the former military dictatorship. Standing beside Suu Kyi on the veranda of the lakeside home in Rangoon where the democracy icon spent 15 years under house arrest, Obama acknowledged both progress and shortcomings since his last visit to the country two years ago. "The economy has begun to grow, political prisoners have been set free, there are more newspapers and media outlets, children have been released from the military, and these are all important changes that have opened up greater opportunity for the people of Burma," he said, while making clear that the White House would like to see more. "The process of reform is by no means complete or irreversible. For many progress has not come fast enough, or spread far enough," he added, pointing to media repression, constitutional flaws and ongoing rights abuses against minority Muslims in Arakan State. Suu Kyi sounded an equally ambivalent note on the direction Burma has taken since 2012, saying that what the country and the international community needed was "a healthy balance between optimism and pessimism." Obama and Suu Kyi met for about an hour on Friday to discuss the political situation in Burma before speaking to reporters outside her home. Addressing a glaring remnant of the former military regime, both leaders called for an inclusive process as lawmakers mull amendments to the country's controversial Constitution. An ongoing campaign to amend the military-drafted Constitution has been spearheaded by Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. The opposition leader and her allies have collected nearly 5 million signatures in favor of reforming Article 436 of the charter—which grants the military an effective veto over changes to the document—and on Saturday Suu Kyi drew thousands of supporters to a rally for constitutional reform in remote Loikaw, Karenni State. In addition to entrenching military power in government, the Constitution bars Suu Kyi from presidential eligibility because her late husband and sons are foreign nationals. While stressing that the fate of that prohibition, stipulated in Article 59(f) of the charter, should be determined by the Burmese people, Obama on Friday said the provision "doesn't make much sense to me," and lacked a precedent in constitutional governance globally. Suu Kyi said that while it was "flattering to have a Constitution written with me in mind," the charter provision denying her the presidency was fundamentally undemocratic. She hinted that a more forceful denunciation of Article 59(f) by the US president would be welcomed. "Our people are firmly behind us in our desire to change this clause, and if President Obama said anything about a necessity to change a clause like that, they would love him very much for it," she said. Proponents of reform are in a race against the clock as national elections loom late next year. The United States has signaled that Burma's 2015 elections will be a seminal gauge of the country's progress on the road to democracy. "This election will be critical to establishing a representative democracy that reflects the aspirations of all the people of Burma. And of course it will shape how the United States engages with the country going forward," Obama told The Irrawaddy in an interview on Wednesday. Notorious for committing grave human rights abuses against its own people, Burma's former military regime was ostracized by the United States and much of the Western world for decades. The Obama administration began a process of "calibrated engagement" in response to the election of a quasi-civilian government in 2010, suspending economic sanctions in May 2012 and one month later reappointing an ambassador to Burma for the first time in 22 years. In the latest nod to the increasingly close ties between the countries, the White House on Thursday announced that it would establish a Peace Corps program in Burma. But with Burma touted by the White House as a foreign policy success story, critics counter that the United States has given up too much leverage to leaders in Naypyidaw who remain far from achieving a democratic government. Suu Kyi herself last week accused the United States of viewing the reform process with too much optimism, and lawmakers in the US Congress have called for the president to take a harder line with the Burmese government. Obama stopped short of making any concrete ultimatum on Friday, saying only that the White House would "continue to express our concerns and we will not be able to fully realize the kind of bilateral relationship that we want to have with Burma and with the Burmese government until we've seen some of these reforms completed." Obama arrived in Burma on Wednesday to attend the Asean and East Asia summits in the capital Naypyidaw. On Thursday, he met President Thein Sein, Union Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann and other lawmakers, as well as civil society leaders and, briefly, Suu Kyi. During talks with his Burmese counterpart, Obama said he stressed five key areas where he hoped for action, including the holding of elections on schedule next year, more tolerance for dissenting voices, and improved protection of ethnic and religious minorities' rights. The US president said he put emphasis on the human rights situation in western Burma, where the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority numbering about 1 million, are facing systematic discrimination from the Burmese government. Violence between Buddhists and Muslims in 2012 killed about 140 people and left some 140,000 others in squalid displacement camps where conditions have severely deteriorated over the last two years. Most of the victims were Rohingya Muslims whose movement today is heavily restricted and who face an acute health crisis after the provision of desperately needed medical services by aid groups was curtailed by the government in February of this year. Earlier on Friday, the US president toured the Secretariat, a simultaneously grandiose and derelict colonial-era structure in downtown Rangoon that was at the heart of government administration until the former junta abruptly relocated the capital to Naypyidaw in 2005. It is also the place where Suu Kyi's father, independence hero Gen. Aung San, was assassinated on the eve of Burma's independence in 1947. Following Friday's press conference with the opposition leader, Obama was due to meet with civil society groups and attend a town hall meeting with young Burmese leaders on the Rangoon University campus. He will depart for the G-20 Summit in Australia on Friday evening. Almost two years ago to the date, Obama met with Suu Kyi at the very same lakeside residence, becoming the first sitting US president to visit the country. About 18 months into the Thein Sein administration's reform program, optimism in Burma and abroad was decidedly more pronounced in November 2012 than it was this time around. Mounting concerns that the country's reform efforts may be faltering was acknowledged by Obama in his interview with The Irrawaddy this week. In addition to the Rohingya crisis and Suu Kyi's thus far stymied efforts to amend the Constitution, dozens of political prisoners continue to languish in the country's jails, activists are being prosecuted for peacefully protesting and fighting continues to flare between the Burma Army and ethnic rebel armed groups. Journalists are also facing increasing pressure from authorities, after an initial loosening of the strict censorship regime under the former junta. At least 11 members of the media have been jailed this year, and the freelance reporter Aung Kyaw Naing was shot dead in military custody last month. President's Office Minister Soe Thane, a close adviser to Thein Sein and like the president a former top junta member, tried to counter the negative tide against the state of Burma's reform program earlier this week. "We must succeed in our transition to peace, democracy and inclusive economic development. And for this to happen we need the rest of the world to appreciate the complexity of the challenges that the Burmese government faces," he wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times on Thursday, listing Burma's colonial past, limited institutional capacity and "the mind-sets and mentalities that emerged under isolation and authoritarian rule" as among those challenges. The post Obama, Suu Kyi Pledge Solidarity Amid 'Bumpy Patch' in Reforms appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Burma Military Should Have Less Power: Obama Posted: 14 Nov 2014 03:22 AM PST  US President Barack Obama meets senior government and opposition lawmakers during a roundtable discussion in Naypyidaw on Thursday. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters) RANGOON — US President Barack Obama has used a meeting with a group of senior Burmese lawmakers to state that the military should not be a feature of the country's political landscape. Meeting with 13 leading parliamentary figures from both the ruling party and opposition in Naypyidaw on Thursday, President Obama affirmed his belief that the military should be placed firmly under control of the civilian government. "He said that it would be better if the army stayed under control of the civilian government," Banyar Aung Moe, an Upper House parliamentarian for the All Mon Region Democracy Party, told The Irrawaddy. Banyar Aung Moe said that Obama's comments were indirect, but those in the meeting were left no doubt of the president's intended meaning. "He said the army in America and in other countries stayed away from politics, and that Burma will have a better reform process if the army stays away from politics," the lawmaker added. The 2008 Constitution currently grants the Burma Army significant political powers, including direct control over a quarter of all seats in both national and regional level parliaments, and three ministerial posts in the government, namely in the Defense Ministry, Home Affairs and Border Affairs. Speaking to BBC Radio, Ye Tun, a lawmaker from the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, said that President Obama had told the meeting that the next leader of the country should be elected by civilian politicians and the military should not be involved in politics. In doing so, Obama spoke of the recent history of Indonesia, where he said governance had improved as the military had progressively withdrawn from political life. The president added that no country in the world is in possession of the perfect constitution, and improvements to Burma's Constitution would take time, according to Ye Tun. National League for Democracy chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi, Lower House speaker Shwe Mann and Upper House speaker Khin Aung Myint of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party were among the other lawmakers who met with President Obama. Suu Kyi's party has 43 seats in the Lower House following free by-elections in 2012 that gave her party a small foothold in the USDP-dominated Parliament. Ethnic lawmakers hold a tiny number of seats and some are aligned with the ruling party. Khin Aung Myint told the US President that Burma has less experience of parliamentary democracy and has many challenges to work through. According to Ye Tun, the Upper House speaker and former junta member said it was not in Burma's interests to return to military government. At the same time, Khin Aung Myint asked Obama to withdraw all US sanctions imposed on Burma, saying that the country needed more economic progress to complement political reform, according to Banyar Aung Moe. Shwe Mann told President Obama that Parliament is currently working through constitutional amendments and deciding on an appropriate electoral system for the country. Ethnic party leaders told Obama that Burma should adopt a federal system of governance in order to guarantee equal rights and representation for ethnic minorities and secure long-term peace. According to Banyar Aung Moe, Obama said in the meeting that the Burmese government should consider sharing power and devolving more of its responsibilities to state governments. The post Burma Military Should Have Less Power: Obama appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Rangoon Officials Unimpressed With Obama Graffiti Posted: 14 Nov 2014 03:08 AM PST  The spray-painted piece by Arkar Kyaw marking US President Barack Obama's second visit to Rangoon on Friday, November 14, 2014. (Photo courtesy Facebook / Arkar Kyaw) RANGOON — The Rangoon-based graffiti artist who famously sprayed a portrait of US President Barack Obama on a roadside wall to mark his first visit to the country, has sprayed a second portrait of the president. In 2012, authorities guarded the portrait to prevent the US president's visage from being defaced. This time, however, the graffiti was promptly covered with a green tarpaulin by Bahan Township officials only hours after it was finished. Arkar Kyaw sprayed the latest portrait of Obama to mark the president's visit to Rangoon on Friday. The graffiti reads "Welcome To Our City Yangon. Btw, R U SURE?" The portrait was sprayed in the exact location of his previous portrait in 2012. "I would like to ask everybody including Mr. Obama that whatever the outcome of their talks, that they are sure," Arkar Kyaw told The Irrawaddy. "Everybody, including my parents, asked me to do something [to mark Obama's visit] so I suddenly decided to do it." In December 2012, the Yangon City Development Committee imposed a ban on spray-painting walls in public places of the former capital. When asked how he felt about his art being covered, Arkar Kyaw said, "I expected that a few hours after I was finished, they would wipe it out." It took an hour for him to finish the portrait of the US president, who has been in Burma since Wednesday to attend meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the East Asia Summit. When The Irrawaddy visited the site of the portrait on Friday, the graffiti remained covered while other graffiti nearby had also been whitewashed. The post Rangoon Officials Unimpressed With Obama Graffiti appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Obama Visits Site of Burmese Independence in Rangoon Posted: 13 Nov 2014 11:41 PM PST  Yangon Heritage Trust founder Thant Myint-U accompanies President Barack Obama through the central courtyard of the Secretariat Building on Friday. (Photo: Kyaw Phyo Tha / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — US President Barack Obama has begun his second visit to the country's former capital with a visit to the Secretariat Building, the site of Burma's declaration of independence from Britain in 1948. In his first official engagement for the morning, President Obama was accompanied by Thant Myint-U, the grandson of former United Nations secretary-general U Thant and the founder of the Yangon Heritage Trust, an NGO working to preserve Burma's former captial's century-old architecture. "President Obama is the first international dignitary to visit in decades," said Thant Myint-U. "This visit is a wonderful recognition of the Secretariat and downtown Yangon's historic importance and future potential." According to Thant Myint-U the Secretariat is the most important secular historic site in the country and the birthplace of Burmese democracy. "It’s where the representative government first took shape in the early 20th century, where General Aung San and his colleagues worked to plan for a future democratic, multiethnic Burma, it’s where the Constituent Assembly met to draw up our only democratic Constitution, where independence was declared in 1948, and where parliament met from 1948 to 1962. It’s where so many of the key decisions in our history were made, from 1883 through the 20th century," he said. In 1947, Burmese independence hero Aung San and six fellow cabinet ministers were assassinated in the Secretariat Building during a meeting of the Executive Council as they planned the end of the country's colonial era. One of the country's most recognizable colonial-era buildings, the overgrown ground of the imposing Victorian redbrick building on Theinbyu Road has lay derelict since the former military regime moved its administrative capital to Naypyidaw in 2005. Despite its historical significance, like many buildings of the former capital's colonial era, the Secretariat Building is currently in a dire state. The Baroque complex sprawls across 16 acres of land, but foliage creeps up its crumbling Venetian domes, weather has worn down its ornate turrets and boards cover up windows. Until recently, the overgrown compound of this imposing Victorian style red brick building in downtown Rangoon was mostly quiet. Gatekeepers sat idle while stray dogs basked in the sun on the driveway. Since the end of last week, however, the 16 acre compound has been buzzing with municipal workers hastily mowing lawns and trimming bushes around the building, while a contingent of police in riot gear have been on a 24 hour detail around the compound's perimeter. President Obama arrived just after 11am on Friday, and was accompanied by Thant Myint-U through the central courtyard to the area where Burma's independence was publicly proclaimed in 1948. The pair discussed possibilities for urban development and heritage protection in Rangoon during their 15-minute discussion. "The president said he felt sad when arrived in Jakarta two or three years ago, because all architecture heritage of the bygone days had disappeared," said Thant Myint-U. "As there was no effective urban planning, the city development wasn't beneficial to local people. He said he wants to see good urban planning in Rangoon and was considering how the US could help [to make it happen]," Thant Myint-U told the Irrawaddy immediately after the president's tour. President Obama has been in Burma since Wednesday evening to attend meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the East Asia Summit. He first visited Burma in 2012. The post Obama Visits Site of Burmese Independence in Rangoon appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| China Raised Issue of US Spy Flights During Military Talks: Pentagon Posted: 13 Nov 2014 09:36 PM PST  Chinese President Xi Jinping gestures to U.S. President Barack Obama as they arrive for a lunch banquet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing November 12, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) WASHINGTON — China raised the thorny subject of US military spy flights during talks that led to agreements this week on reducing friction between the two militaries, but was told US missions in international airspace and waters would continue, the US military said. The closed-door conversations underscored China's sensitivity to surveillance by US P-8 Poseidon spy planes and other aircraft, especially off Hainan Island, home to a major Chinese submarine base. A Chinese intercept of a P-8 plane in international airspace off Hainan in August was described as dangerous by Washington. US President Barack Obama announced the military agreements on Wednesday after meeting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing. They cover the notification of major military activities, including exercises, and rules of behavior for air and maritime encounters. Guidelines on encounters between naval surface vessels had been drawn up, the White House said, adding similar guidelines governing air-to-air encounters would be formulated. At one point during the discussions, Chinese officials had raised the matter of US military spy flights that, in Beijing's view, have come too close to Hainan, said Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Pool, a Pentagon spokesman. "China did raise the issue of restricting US operations in international airspace and both sides discussed their positions," Pool told Reuters. The Chinese Defense Ministry had no immediate comment. China sees the air space around Hainan as part of its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, which, in its view, ought to be restricted. The US military says it has the right to fly any kind of mission it chooses in international airspace, which begins 12 nautical miles from a country's coastline. The incident in August, when a Chinese fighter jet intercepted a P-8 Poseidon plane some 135 miles (215 km) east of Hainan, highlighted the risks as the two militaries rub up against each other in the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean. The Chinese jet made several passes, crossing over and under it. At one point, it flew wingtip-to-wingtip and then performed a barrel roll over the top of the spy plane, US officials have said. China has dismissed the criticism as groundless and said the pilot had kept a safe distance. The rules on military encounters are meant to apply everywhere, even in each country's exclusive economic zones, Pool said. "We have consistently opposed any Chinese proposals that would limit US operations in the air or sea beyond the territorial limits of coastal states, place US alliances at risk [or] constrain activities with US allies or partners," Pool added. The post China Raised Issue of US Spy Flights During Military Talks: Pentagon appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| US, Japan, Denmark Promote Labor Rights in Burma Posted: 13 Nov 2014 09:26 PM PST  Workers from the Myue & Soe Garment factory stand during a protest for a salary increase in front of the Mayangone Township labor office in Rangoon on Sept. 7, 2012. (Photo: Reuters / Soe Zeya Tun) RANGOON — The U.S. is teaming up with Japan and Denmark to try to improve labor conditions in Burma, where poor conditions for workers have long been a concern. The White House says the three countries will launch an initiative with the International Labor Organization aimed at reforming Burma’s labor laws over a number of years. The goal is to get business, labor groups and government institutions cooperating. The White House says the U.S. will pay for a labor law expert to advise Burma’s government on reforming its laws. The three countries also are inviting other nations and organizations to join the effort. The U.S. is announcing the initiative on the last day of President Barack Obama’s trip to Burma. Obama is encouraging Burma to keep pursuing democratization despite recent setbacks. The post US, Japan, Denmark Promote Labor Rights in Burma appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| China Offers Asean Friendship, Loans as South China Sea Tension Bubbles Posted: 13 Nov 2014 09:17 PM PST  Chinese Premier Li Keqiang addresses the 17th Asean-China Summit in Naypyitaw on Thursday. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters) NAYPYIDAW — China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang proposed a friendship treaty with Southeast Asian countries and offered $20 billion in loans on Thursday but held firm on the line that Beijing will only settle South China Sea disputes directly with other claimants. China, Taiwan and four members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have competing claims in the sea where concern is growing of an escalation in disputes. "China…stands ready to become the first dialogue partner to sign with Asean a treaty of friendship and cooperation," Li told leaders in Burma. The treaty is seen as an attempt by China to dispel any notion it is a threat and Li said China was willing to make pacts with more countries on good-neighbourliness and friendship. Li also offered Asean countries $20 billion in preferential and special loans to develop infrastructure, an attractive proposition for a region struggling to fund the roads, ports and railways needed for growth. Still, he reiterated China’s resolve to safeguard its sovereignty and its position that maritime disputes should be settled bilaterally rather than collectively or through arbitration. The Philippines, one of the Asean claimants, has irked China by seeking international arbitration over China’s claims to about 90 percent of the South China Sea. Philippine diplomatic sources were cool to China’s treaty offer, saying it lacked substance and was similar to a 2012 Philippine proposal that China ignored. Asean leaders hoped to persuade their giant neighbour to take a less bellicose approach to the overlapping claims when they met Li behind closed doors on Thursday. But despite the backroom talk, Asean as a group has been reluctant to antagonise China. "We remain concerned over the situation in the South China Sea," the group said its Chairman’s Statement without mentioning China. The Philippines and Vietnam have sought closer US ties to counter what they see as China’s aggression. In May, China sent an oil-drilling rig to waters claimed by Vietnam, sparking deadly anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam. US President Barack Obama, also in Naypyidaw for the East Asian summit, held his first formal meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dong on Thursday. "We very much share the belief that it is important for all countries in the region, large and small, to abide by rules-based norms in resolving disputes," Obama said. On Oct. 2, the United States decided to start easing a nearly four-decade lethal arms embargo on Vietnam. The post China Offers Asean Friendship, Loans as South China Sea Tension Bubbles appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Obama Optimistic on Change in Burma, More Work to be Done Posted: 13 Nov 2014 09:12 PM PST  US President Barack Obama sits at a roundtable discussion with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and parliamentary speakers Khin Aung Myint and Thura Shwe Mann in Naypyidaw on Thursday. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters) NAYPYIDAW — US President Barack Obama said on Thursday he was optimistic about political change in Burma and called on the country’s top politicians to push on with reform toward a free, inclusive and transparent election in 2015. Burma began its emergence from international pariah status in 2011 when military leaders launched reforms after nearly half a century in power. "The democratisation process in Myanmar [Burma] is real," Obama said at a joint press conference with President Thein Sein at the presidential palace in the capital Naypyidaw. "But in our discussions we recognized that this process is still incomplete." Burma's speedy reform process, after years of sanctions and other US pressure, was seen as a rare foreign policy achievement for Obama. But Obama’s second presidential visit to Burma comes amid concern that reforms have stalled, and his administration has been trying to deal pragmatically with the quasi-civilian government. Burma will continue with its transition, Thein Sein said. "Some of the suggestions and concerns of the United States have been implemented," he said. "We need time but we are in the process of addressing these concerns." Obama said he discussed with Thein Sein the need to work toward a situation in which the Muslim minority in the majority Buddhist country is protected and its rights respected. The persecuted Muslim ethnic Rohingya face a humanitarian crisis in western Arakan State, and US officials on Thursday called for Burma to draft a new plan to allow them to become citizens. The substantial power still held by the military, which is handling the transition to democracy, was one of the key questions that needed to be dealt with, Obama told a group of Burma's most powerful lawmakers at a meeting earlier on Thursday. The military holds 25 percent of seats in parliament, giving it veto power over constitutional amendments. Among the group of lawmakers was opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is not eligible to become president under the existing constitution. Also present was Shwe Mann, who holds the powerful position of lower house parliamentary speaker and is tipped by some as a contender for the presidency in 2015. Obama will meet Suu Kyi again on Friday at her home in Burma's largest city, Rangoon. The post Obama Optimistic on Change in Burma, More Work to be Done appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Burma Govt Shows Illusion of Diversity at Asia Summit Posted: 13 Nov 2014 09:04 PM PST  Burmese students wearing costumes representing Burma's different ethnic groups welcome delegates as they arrive for the 25th ASEAN Summit in Naypyidaw November 13, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) NAYPYIDAW — Women welcoming world leaders stood in rows, colorfully clad in costumes representing Burma’s many ethnic groups, some with their hair tied in high knots or wrapped in red headdresses, others donning horizontally striped longyis and silver coin-studded capes. But the ushers — all university students bused in for the event — did not belong to any of the minority groups they represented. All were Burman, the ethnic majority that has dominated the government, military and economy since independence from Britain in 1948. Burma, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 50 million, began transitioning to democracy in 2011 following a half-century of brutal military rule and self-imposed isolation. But while 40 percent of the population belongs to one of more than 130 ethnic minorities, efforts by the new, nominally civilian government to project unity often falter, or expose differences instead. Take Naypyidaw, a city that claims to have a population of 1.3 million, where this week’s meetings were held. Carved from the jungles and purpose-built as Burma’s new capital, it is dotted by impressive stadiums, enormous meeting halls and hundreds of villas for visiting VIPs that seem incongruous in one of the world’s poorest countries. Gilded pagodas abound, but there is not a single church, even though 80,000 residents are Christian. There are also 58 Christian members of Parliament, but the closest service for them to attend is in an old, rural church 30 kilometers (20 miles) away. The government was transferred almost overnight to Naypyidaw in 2005 from the largest city, Rangoon, 320 kilometers (200 miles) away, thousands of civil servants packing up their belongings and moving with it. Ethnic parliamentarians are given stark, barely furnished rooms in government-style barracks separate from the more luxurious residences of ruling party lawmakers, and they wear traditional attire representing their home communities, bear claws, feathers and all. When world leaders gathered behind closed doors Thursday to talk about security threats and economics, 30 young women who had greeted them upon arrival took advantage of downtime to snack and rest in their lounge. When asked their ethnicity, one-by-one each woman said Burmese. A young woman who wore a long brass neck coil when in the welcoming line was suddenly without her adornment. Asked where it was, she looked offended: "Oh, that’s fake! Did you think I was really Kayan Padaung?" The post Burma Govt Shows Illusion of Diversity at Asia Summit appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| Tepid Expressions of Concern on Int’l Issues, As Asia Summit Wraps Up Posted: 13 Nov 2014 08:55 PM PST
 (L-R) Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, China’s Premier Li Keqiang, Myanmar’s President Thein Sein, U.S. President Barack Obama, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak and Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev pose for a photo before the East Asia Summit plenary session on Thursday. (Photo: Reuters) NAYPYIDAW — U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders who gathered in Burma to discuss issues ranging from rival claims over the South China Sea to threats posed by the Ebola virus offered tepid expressions of concern Thursday and no firm commitments. But some experts still say it was more than just a talk-shop. While agendas and the outcomes are usually reached months in advance, Panithan Wattanayagorn, a professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, said such meetings “allow heads of state to meet directly and exchange ideas, to prioritize and reflect on them. "Much of it is about showing unity,” he said, and building trust. Millions of dollars are spent hosting Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the East Asia summits, which were held back-to-back Wednesday and Thursday in Myanmar’s purpose-built capital, Naypyidaw. Obama, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among 18 leaders attending. And it was the first ASEAN summit for newly elected Indonesian President Joko Widodo. In recent years, journalists flown in to cover the annual gathering have only been granted superficial access to officials. And Burma, which ran the event with military-like discipline, a legacy of a half-century of dictatorial rule, kept the press farther from participants than most hosts. Below are some of final statements and comments made on the sidelines: The South China Sea Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, which is of tremendous strategic importance to everyone, including Washington, need to be solved peacefully and through dialogue. Southeast Asian nations and China should work toward the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. Burma While not on the official agenda, recent backslides of Burma’s once-heralded reforms were raised on the sidelines, as were expressions of “deep concern” about persecution of country’s stateless Rohingya Muslims. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged President Thein Sein to address the issue of citizenship — an underlying issue behind violence and systematic discrimination. Obama vowed to deliver the same message during his meeting. Ebola Ebola poses a global threat to peace and security and relief assistance is needed to help fight the deadly virus in the hardest-hit West Africa nations, home to most of the world’s 5,000 deaths. When necessary, leaders from Southeast Asian nations will seek technical assistance from the World Health Organization to help detect and respond to public health threats. Islamic State Group Participants reiterated that they supported efforts to restore law and order inside Iraq as it – and the world at large – struggles with threats posed by the Islamic State group. They called on Iraq and international partners to ensure the protection of civilians and access to humanitarian assistance for those affected by the conflict. They demanded the immediate, safe and unconditional release of all those who are kept hostage by the group or associated individuals and entities. North Korea Participants underlined the importance of peace, security and stability on the Korean Peninsula and stressed the need to return to six-party talks aimed at dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Those talks, which brought together China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States, broke down in 2008.
The post Tepid Expressions of Concern on Int'l Issues, As Asia Summit Wraps Up appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| In Remote Karenni State, a Place of Diversity and Learning Posted: 13 Nov 2014 05:00 PM PST  Children study at the Dawbozee Monastery in Demoso Township, Karenni State. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) DEMOSO TOWNSHIP, Karenni State — A peak inside the Dawbozee Monastery compound at lunchtime reveals a cheerful scene, as novices and lay children play together under the watchful gaze of a handful of Buddhist nuns. But it's not all fun and games here: There's also learning to be done. There are no chairs or tables at the school in Dawbozee village, consigning education materials and pupils alike to the cement floor when lessons are in progress. The monastic school offers free education to children from a cornucopia of minority groups in the region, from Padaung and Kayan to Kayar, Kayaw, Pa-O and Shan. Many children are brought here from remote areas of Karenni State where families are unable to afford to pay for their education. There are 188 students that call the school home, taking meals and sleeping in the compound after class is out. The school teaches students from first grade to seventh grade. Those who graduate from the seventh grade must enroll in a government school if they wish to continue their studies. There are six monastic schools in Karenni State, according to Badhanta Thondhara, who is abbot at the Dawbozee Monastery. His school has eight schoolteachers, and Badhanta Thondhara hopes next year the school will be the first in Karenni State to offer high school instruction. "Our school will be the first to become a high school next year," says Badhanta Thondhara, who is also the school's founder. He started offering monastic education in 1996, at the time teaching some 60 students brought in from across the diverse state with the intention of offering them a reliable study routine. "By studying here, children can have regular times for instruction. In local areas, it is very difficult to find schoolteachers. Children do not study at home after coming back from their schools. By living here, they have full time to study at night, while schoolteachers teach them during the daytime," says Badhanta Thondhara. "During free time, we teach them how to work with volunteer jobs. For example, students in the third grade, they do not know how to wash their clothes. So, we let fifth grade students wash clothes for the younger children. This is teaching them how to serve in the community. And also we teach them how to pay respect to each other. If we teach them well, they will understand how to serve the country when they become adults," he says. Badhanta Thondhara, 68, has spent more than 20 years in the monkhood, after retiring from the Burma Army. He is ethnic Bamar, but says that his school does not accept children who are Bamar because the area is populated by a variety of ethnic minorities. "We found most of our Burmese kids did not understand the customs of ethnic people. When they do not know how to deal with customs here, they are not happy at the school," Badhanta Thondhara says. Many students have to forego study beyond the seventh grade, according to the abbot, as their parents want their children to work. It is for this reason that the abbot is trying to start high school instruction next year. "For local children, when they become older, their parents want their children to work and drop out of school. It happens a lot locally," he says. The monastery has been offering schooling for nearly two decades. The abbot acknowledges that there have been many difficulties over the years, such as how to provide food, schoolteachers and education materials for the children, though he says the first three years were the hardest. Donations have since increased, and with it, the quality of the children's education and living conditions has risen. There's a chance things could further improve with financial assistance from the government, which last year said it would put 3 billion kyats (US$3 million) toward monastic education in Burma. But with more than 260,000 students enrolled in monastic schools across the country, those funds may not go a long way toward bolstering a system that relies almost entirely on donations. "Our intention is to breed more educated people," says the abbot in Dawbozee. "If one student becomes well-educated among a hundred, I am happy enough." The post In Remote Karenni State, a Place of Diversity and Learning appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. | |
| A Look Back: Five Years of Burma-US Relations Posted: 13 Nov 2014 04:00 PM PST  US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Burmese President Thein Sein during the 26th Asean Summit in Naypyidaw on Thursday. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) After two decades of sanctions, the United States has been cautiously moving toward a policy of engagement with Burma. The Irrawaddy looks back at five years of warming relations. January 2009: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Jim Webb, an opponent of US sanctions on Burma, to discuss a "fresh look" at the country's longstanding Burma policy. March 2009:Clinton sent Stephen Blake, Director of the State Department's Office for Mainland Southeast Asia, to Burma. Blake became the first US official to travel to Naypyidaw and met with Burmese foreign minister Nyan Win. Aug. 14, 2009: Senator Webb traveled to Naypyidaw to meet with Than Shwe, the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council and Burma's then-head of state. Webb successfully negotiated the release of US citizen John Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment earlier in the year for swimming across Inya Lake in an attempt to meet with opposition leader Aung San SuuKyi, who was then under house arrest. Dec. 1, 2011: Clinton visited Burma, the first trip by a secretary of state since 1955. Clinton met with President Thein Sein in Naypyidaw and Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon, after which she announced a relaxation of restrictions on aid and the flagging of a possible exchange of ambassadors. The US withdrew its ambassador in 1990 after the military refused to recognize the results of that year's election. Jan. 10, 2012: Vice-President Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo met Derek Mitchell, US special representative and policy coordinator for Burma. Jan. 29, 2012: US Senate confirmed Derek Mitchell as the US ambassador to Burma. May 17, 2012: Clinton announces the suspension of US sanctions against Burma during foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin’s first visit to Washington. Jul. 11, 2012: Derek Mitchell formally assumed his position by presenting his credentials to Thein Sein at the presidential residence in Naypyidaw. Oct. 15, 2012: A 22-member US delegation, including senior military officials, arrived in Burma to attend a human rights conference and meet with government officials. The delegation was led by Michael Posner, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor. Oct. 19, 2012: US President Barack Obama visited Burma, the first ever visit by a sitting US president to the country. He met Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi, and delivered a speech at Rangoon University, affirming his commitment to support Burma's reform process. In meeting with Obama, Thein Sein made 11 specific commitments to strengthen human rights protections in Burma. Dec. 18, 2012: US Ambassador Derek Mitchell made his first official visit to Kachin State. He met with local leaders in a bid to improve aid efforts for displaced refugees there, as fighting between ethnic rebels and government troops continued to escalate. Feb. 7, 2013: The US Department of the Treasury blacklisted Lt. General Thein Htay, the head of Burma’s Directorate of Defense Industries (DDI), for his involvement the illicit trade of North Korean arms to Burma. Feb. 25, 2013: The United States relaxed sanctions on four large banks in Burma, allowing them access to the US financial system as a reward for the country's political reforms. May 2, 2013: The Obama administration lifted a 1996 ban on granting US entry visas to Burma’s former military rulers, their business partners and immediate families. May 20, 2013: Thein Sein met Obama at the White House. It was the first visit by a Burmese leader to the US since 1966. During the call, Thein Sein and his senior ministers reaffirmed their intention to uphold the commitments made during Obama's first visit to Burma. Aug. 7, 2013: The Myanmar-United States Trade Council (MUSATC) called for duty-free treatment of Burmese exports to the United States under its Generalized System of Preferences, citing recent labor reforms. Aug. 29, 2013: Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing met with Derek Mitchell to discuss the role of the Burma military in US-Burma relations and Burma's democratization. Feb. 24, 2014: Kenneth Handelman, deputy assistant secretary of state for defense trade controls in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs told Jane's Defence Weekly that the United States planned to expand its defense ties with Burma and would consider resuming arms sales if the country's human rights record greatly improves. May 2, 2014: Obama renewed the National Emergencies Act for another year, prohibiting US businesses and individuals from investing in Burma or doing business with Burmese figures involved in repression of the democracy movement. Jun. 27, 2014: Tom Malinowski, US assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, visited Burma and held discussions with Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing on promotion of military-to-military cooperation. He also met withSuu Kyi and members of the Union Election Commission. The purpose of the tour, Malinowski said, was to engage the Burmese government on a range of issues including ensuring free and fair elections and determining the future role of the Burmese military. He said that the US was preparing for "cautious" engagement with Burma's military, which could include non-combat training. Aug. 9, 2014: Secretary of State John Kerry attended the US-Asean Ministerial Meeting and other regional forums in Napyidaw. Kerry reiterated his country's commitment to helping the country realize its full potential as a peaceful, just, prosperous and democratic society, and raised concerns about human rights issues. Aug. 28, 2014: The second US-Asean Business Summit was held in Naypyidaw, attended by US businessmen. Oct 27, 2014: Derek Mitchell visited Kachin State. During the three-day visit, Mitchell met with advisors to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), religious leaders and peace negotiators. Oct. 31, 2014: US Department of Treasury places lower house lawmaker Aung Thaung from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party on its sanctions lit, an act condemned by the Burmese parliament. Nov. 12, 2014: US President Barack Obama arrived in Naypyidaw to attend the Asean and East Asia Summit meetings. Compiled by Wei Yan and Thet Ko Ko. The post A Look Back: Five Years of Burma-US Relations appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine. |
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