Asia leaders express rare hope over Myanmar

[CrazyExpat]

HUA HIN, Thailand (Reuters) - Asian leaders expressed rare optimism in Myanmar's junta on Sunday, from hopes of stability on its volatile northern border to signs of softening attitude towards detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

After talks with Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein during a summit of 16 Asia-Pacific nations over the weekend, Asian leaders said the reclusive state acknowledged it needed to show the world it can hold free elections.

The sentencing of opposition leader Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner detained for 14 of the last 20 years, to a further 18 months of detention in August has raised questions over whether next year's election will be a sham.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Myanmar told the meetings Suu Kyi might be able to participate in society and possibly politics again, though no timeframe was given.

"He briefed us on some of the dialogue that is taking place and he feels optimistic that she can contribute also to the process of national reconciliation," Abhisit said of talks with the Myanmar leader in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin.

Next year's elections will be the first since 1990, when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party scored a landslide victory that the ruling junta refused to recognise.

Military rulers of the former Burma have been on a recent charm offensive, allowing Suu Kyi to meet with Western diplomats this month to discuss Western sanctions and opening the door to more contact with U.S. government officials.

The comments come a day after Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama quoted Myanmar's leader as saying if Suu Kyi maintained "a good attitude" it was possible Myanmar authorities will relax current measures.

Myanmar's prime minister "recognises full well that the rest of the world expects to see elections as inclusive as possible," Abhisit told a news conference.

That view was generally echoed by other Asian leaders.

"There was an atmosphere of hope that the Myanmar leadership is moving toward normalising its relations with the United States, that they were working towards national reconciliation," said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"That's what we all welcome, that next year's election should see a reconciliation of the various segments of Myanmar society," Singh told a separate news conference.

BORDER STABILITY

The United States will send a fact-finding delegation to Myanmar this week as part of an exploratory dialogue with the junta, following the Obama administration's announcement in September it would pursue deeper engagement with Myanmar's military rulers to try to spur democratic reform.

China's premier also expressed confidence in his southern neighbour after meeting with Thein Sein, saying he expected Myanmar will keep the peace on its border after violence pushed thousands of refugees into China in August.

China's Wen Jiabao also pledged more financial aid to Myanmar, according to a Chinese state media report of the closed-door talks.

China's Xinhua state news agency said Wen believed Myanmar "could properly handle problems and safeguard peace and stability in the China-Myanmar border region" after the two met on the sidelines of a summit of 16 Asia-Pacific leaders.

In August, Myanmar's army overran Kokang, a territory that lies along the border with the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan and was controlled for years by an ethnic Chinese militia that paid little heed to the central government.

Many of the refugees were ethnic Chinese, some of them Chinese citizens, who complained their houses and businesses had been sacked and looted during the violence.

Last month, China rapped the former Burma over the violence, demanding the government protect Chinese citizens and make sure such incidents did not happen again.

But relations appear to be improving again.

"To develop good neighbourly China-Myanmar relations with mutually beneficial cooperation conforms with the fundamental interests of the two countries and will be conducive to regional peace and stability," Wen told Thein Sein, Xinhua said.

Myanmar's prime minister last month visited the U.N. General Assembly for the first time in 16 years to promote next year's elections, part of the junta's recent charm offensive.

(Additional reporting by Martin Petty and John Ruwitch; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-43417820091025?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

[WannaGo]

...quoted Myanmar's leader as saying if Suu Kyi maintained "a good attitude" it was possible Myanmar authorities will relax current measures.

A good attitude, presumably, being that she doesn't speak openly about that pesky democracy subject or the democratic elections that were ignored by the junta 20 years ago.

Last month, China rapped the former Burma over the violence, demanding the government protect Chinese citizens and make sure such incidents did not happen again.

Isn't that sort of like Bill Clinton trying to lecture Mark Sanford on marital fidelity?

It's good if the junta is beginning to show signs of backing off its hard-line stance. And it's good that the Obama administration is making efforts to normalize relations. The US needs to start building some influence in Myanmar to counter the Chinese.

[Bob]

I'll have some hope if and only when she's released from the current charges and is allowed to run in next year's elections. Without that, the ASEAN group might as well be smokin' yaba.

[Wino]

I'll have some hope if and only when she's released from the current charges and is allowed to run in next year's elections. Without that, the ASEAN group might as well be smokin' yaba.

According to the rules the junta has drawn up for the upcoming elections, Suu Kyi can not run because she was married to a foreigner. I doubt the generals will change that rule. They know Suu Kyi would win the election again.

[WannaGo]

I'll have some hope if and only when she's released from the current charges and is allowed to run in next year's elections. Without that, the ASEAN group might as well be smokin' yaba.

Yeah, their enthusiasm is looking a little premature.

[Wino]

Is the US trying to have more influence in Southeast Asia? I am sure they would like to bring Myanmar into the international community and away from the China influence. Here is an interesting article.

US zeroes in on China's clout in Myanmar

A senior United States State Department mission is going to Myanmar to ostensibly discuss democracy and human rights, but the subtext will clearly be boosting ties and building influence in a country long considered to be in China's diplomatic pocket. The competition between Washington and Beijing for influence in Southeast Asia could hinge on how Myanmar's generals react. - Brian McCartan

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/KJ24Ae03.html

[Wino]

This is a step towards a better relationship with Myanmar. I hope the talks are productive and the generals loosen their grip on the society.

YANGON, Myanmar — The U.S. wants better relations with military-ruled Myanmar if it makes concrete steps toward democracy, a senior American diplomat said Wednesday after holding the highest-level talks with the junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 14 years.

Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said he explained Washington's new policy, which reverses the Bush administration's isolation of Myanmar, also known as Burma, in favor of dialogue with a country that has been ruled by the military since 1962.

The goals of the new 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 said in a statement at the end of his two-day visit.

Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel, are the highest-level Americans to visit Myanmar since 1995.

Read more at: http://www.huffingto...u_n_345059.html

[WannaGo]

...the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners...

That will be necessary for the junta to gain any sort of credibility with its own people and the rest of the world.

[Wino]

That will be necessary for the junta to gain any sort of credibility with its own people and the rest of the world.

Let us hope that happens. The junta has released Sui Kyi from her house arrest in the past. I am hopeful they will be bold enough to give her the freedom she deserves.

[Wino]

President Barack Obama has been face-to-face with Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein at the summit with leaders of ten Southeast Asian nations. Obama's message to the general, free Aung San Suu Kyi. I hope it works.

[WannaGo]

Obama is the third US rep to publicly deliver that message in the last month...looks like we're making a coordinated effort to put pressure on the junta.

[Bob]

FREE AUNG SAN SUU KYI!

This message being delivered free of charge just in case those monkey-assed Burmese generals are reading this board.

[Wino]

I think the message has been received. Now let us see if they act upon it. I think she might be freed before the elections. Let's hope.

[WannaGo]

Even if they do release her, how many other political prisoners are they holding under far less high-profile, and probably far more barbaric conditions? And how many have just been marched off into the jungle for a quick bullet in the back of the head and an anonymous burial?

[Wino]

Even if they do release her, how many other political prisoners are they holding under far less high-profile, and probably far more barbaric conditions? And how many have just been marched off into the jungle for a quick bullet in the back of the head and an anonymous burial?

That may be true but we need to take one step at a time. I think it will help if Burma comes back into the international community.

[WannaGo]

One step at a time, yes, but at some point, there should be a reckoning for what the junta has perpetrated.

[Wino]

One step at a time, yes, but at some point, there should be a reckoning for what the junta has perpetrated.

That is something the people of Myanmar should address and probably will.

[WannaGo]

That is something the people of Myanmar should address and probably will.

That's a regional, if not global, issue.

[Wino]

I think it is a national issue.