WASHINGTON DC — The leader of Burmese opposition party, the
National League of Democracy (NLD), Aung San Suu Kyi, arrived in the US capital
on Monday ahead of a grueling 17-day tour of the country, during which she is
scheduled to meet a multitude of personalties, including President Obama,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and some
of her fellow Nobel laureates. She is also scheduled to receive the US
Congress’ highest civilian honor.
On her first visit to the US
since she was released from house arrest in late 2010, Suu Kyi will visit the
United Nations headquarters in New York, and travel to Kentucky, Indiana (which
has a sizeable Burmese population), New Haven in Connecticut, San Francisco and
Los Angeles.
On Tuesday, the Burmese
pro-democracy icon is scheduled to meet with Clinton who will deliver introductory
remarks at an event to honor her, which has been jointly organized by the US
Institute of Peace, the Asia Society and the US State Department. She is also
likely to visit the White House, sources said.
“[Aung San Suu Kyi has] been a
very strong voice for continued ties between our country for education, for
reform, all those kinds of things,” said the State Department spokesperson,
Victoria Nuland, at her daily news briefing. “The Secretary [of State] takes
counsel with her whenever she can, and I think they’ll have another opportunity
for that tomorrow.”
In response to a reporter’s
question, Nuland said, “The changes and reform steps that we’ve seen in Burma
in the last year are qualitatively and quantitatively broader and deeper than
we had seen at any time before, with the allowing of Suu Kyi’s party to run,
with release of prisoners, with the outreach to all of the minority groups.
There’s obviously a lot more to be done, and we will talk to both Daw Suu Kyi
and to President Thein Sein about that going forward.”
During the Washington-leg of her
trip, Suu Kyi is expected to meet a host of US lawmakers who will host a
private reception for her in addition to presenting her with the Congressional
Gold Medal award on Wednesday, which is the highest civilian award bestowed by
the US Congress.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy,
Jennifer Quingley from the US Campaign for Burma said, “Aung San Suu Kyi’s trip
to the United States is an opportunity for her to thank those who have
campaigned for her release and championed the movement for democracy and human
rights in Burma. But it is also a time to discuss the opportunities and
challenges that lay ahead. The fight for democracy and human rights for the
people of Burma is far from over, her visit should reinvigorate her supporters
to continue the struggle.”
Also while in Washington, Suu Kyi
will receive the Global Vision Award from the Asia Society, and will give a
speech when the National Endowment for Democracy’s 2012 Democracy Award is
bestowed upon five of her compatriots. The International Republican Institute
and the National Democratic Institute will honor her at a dinner on Wednesday.
After a four-day stay in
Washington, Suu Kyi travels to New York on September 21 where she is expected
to meet the UN Secretary General, and a possible meeting with fellow Nobel
laureates. Her stay in New York coincides with the annual UN General Assembly
where she is expected to meet a host of world leaders, and possibly address the
world body.
Among her public events, she will
also receive the Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council in New York on
Friday.
The Burmese opposition leader
will spend Sept. 23 – 24 in Louisville, Kentucky, including a visit to a horse
ranch with Sen. Mitch McConnell. Both will then address the University of
Louisville.
From Louisville, the popular
Burmese leader will head to Fort Wayne, in Indiana, which is known as “Little
Burma,” given that it has among the highest concentration of Burmese in the US.
She returns to New York for a day on Sept. 26, before heading to New Haven for
a Chubb Fellow lecture at Yale University. The NLD leader will spend her last
few days on the west coast, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, where she will
meet members of the Burmese community.
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