A
group of US senators are scheduled to begin a visit to Burma today to evaluate
the ongoing reforms in the country. They will arrive with a list of conditions
the government must meet before the US lifts its sanctions on the country.
The senators, led by John McCain of Arizona,
will meet President Thein Sein and other senior Burmese officials in Naypyidaw,
before calling on Nobel Peace laureate and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in
Rangoon.
Burma has received a parade of visiting senior
US officials and lawmakers in recent months, most notably Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton in November.
The senators' visit is a part of process
toward the possible lifting of sanctions and the normalisation of relations
between the two countries, which were downgraded by Washington in 1990 in
response to undemocratic practices and human-rights violations in the
military-dominated nation.
McCain said the US wanted to see improvements
in many areas in the country before sanctions could be lifted and ties
normalised.
Release of political prisoners, freedom of the
press and freedom of movement are among the requisite conditions, he said.
"There are so many forced labourers,
there have been so many practices against ethnic minorities - on one side they
have a cease-fire, while on the other side there is brutality practised against
minorities," McCain said at a press briefing in Bangkok yesterday.
The US and the rest of the international
community will be closely watching an April 1 by-election in which Suu Kyi and
her National League for Democracy will contest 48 seats in Parliament, he said.
The US would regard a free and fair
by-election as a sign that the political situation in the country is improving,
McCain said.
"We are not saying we would dictate the
result of the election... but we would reward the result of a free and fair
election," McCain said.
Burmese President Thein Sein has introduced a
series of political and economic reforms since taking the helm in March last
year. He has met Suu Kyi, allowed her a certain degree of freedom and even
listened to her concerns over development projects that may damage the
environment.
He has announced cease-fires with armed ethnic
minorities that have been fighting the government for decades. Many groups have
reached a truce with the government, while others are in negotiations.
Thein Sein has also eased restrictions on the
media, and a significant number of political prisoners were released in recent
months.
However, the US lawmakers said those actions
on their own were not sufficient to allow the lifting of sanctions, and that it
is too early to make any judgement on when that might happen.
"We should all applaud what has happened
in Burma, but there are many cases in history where we got a little bit too
optimistic and found out that it isn't quite what we hoped it would be,"
McCain said, advising against a "rush to make any judgement that we may
regret later on".
And while some political prisoners had been
released, the senator said, the US was pushing to have all of them freed.
Senator Joseph Lieberman from Connecticut said
the unfolding events in Burma were the beginning of a long process toward the
rule of law, and that such a process would take time. The US government and
Congress were willing to provide any assistance needed to help the country
during and after this period of transition, McCain said.
Supalak Ganjanakhundee in Bangkok/The Nation |
Asia News Network
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment