US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton breaks new ground in Myanmar

December 1, 2011

http://www.washingtonpost.com

by William Wan

The highest-ranking U.S. official to set foot in Myanmar( Burma)’s Presidential Palace, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday brought a message of praise to Burma’s President for his nascent gestures of reform even as she warned him that significantly more progress was needed for change to take root.

The table may be set for “a new chapter in our shared history,” Clinton said at a news conference shortly after the meeting, adding that “while the measures already taken may be unprecedented and welcomed, they are just a beginning.”

For weeks leading up to Clinton’s visit, the Obama administration had emphasized cautious optimism in dealing with authoritarian and reclusive leaders of Myanmar(Burma) — a country with a long history of repression and strife that has seen promises of progress dissipate before, and in some case, devolve into brutal and lethal crackdowns.

Seeking to allay such doubts, Myanmar (Burma)’s President Thein Sein spent much of their meeting giving a detailed 45-minute presentation to Clinton about further change, according to U.S. officials. His plan for reforming areas of his government long criticized by the U.S. and others included: the gradual release of political prisoners, a cease-fire in the war between Burma’s military and ethnic minorities, political reform, media freedom and adopting international agreements on nuclear programs to allay suspicions about Burma-North Korea weapons trades.

Clinton said she responded by telling him that the United States will ”match action with action” — greater aid, economic rewards and diplomatic prestige in return for bolder reforms.

Thein Sein and others in his government have pushed repeatedly for Washington to lift economic sanctions against Burma — viewed as the ultimate prize for their overtures to the West.

In their meeting Thursday, Clinton offered the Myanmese (Burmese) significantly smaller incentives in hopes of nudging them forward without giving up too much too fast. She discussed U.S. support for loosening restrictions on health and microfinancing programs by the United Nations and offered U.S. support for exploring other international aid.

The most direct result of the meeting, however, could be a restoration of U.S. diplomatic relations and an upgrade of Burma’s mission into a full embassy with a U.S. ambassador — something Clinton said she discussed with the Burmese officials.

The historic exchanges on Thursday suggest Burma, also known as Myanmar, could become the long desired example of success for the Obama administration’s approach to oppressive regimes. His early pledge — to reach out to those despotic governments who “unclench their first” — has largely gone unanswered for two years.

Iran has become increasingly isolated with Western powers now pulling out diplomats fearing for their safety. North Korea has remained as defiant as ever — launching provocative attacks last year on South Korea, perhaps the closest U.S. ally in Asia. And Syria remains embroiled in its brutal repression of a revolution.

From that bleak global picture, Burma’s political and economic reform emerged suddenly and unexpectedly, U.S. officials said.

“It was good policy by the Obama administration, but they also, to a degree, got lucky,” said Ernie Bower, a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

While much has been made of Burma’s recent overtures to the West as an attempt to guard itself from an increasingly powerful and assertive China, the change is also believed to be result of internal politics among its secretive leaders — power dynamics U.S. officials readily admit they still do not understand — and fear that the country is falling far behind its neighbors because of its isolation and international sanctions.