Obama's historic decision to visit Myanmar
In late November, US President Barack Obama will be the first US leader to visit Myanmar. On 17-20 November, Obama will visit a number of Southeast Asian nations illustrating region’s rising importance. Besides Myanmar US President will also travel to Thailand and Cambodia.
Jan Kerney White House press secretary said that the President will “speak to civil society to encourage Burma’s ongoing democratic transition.” On Myanmar’s behalf government’s spokesman Maj Zaw Htay commented, “the support and encouragement by the US president and American people will strengthen the commitment of President Thein Sein's reform process to move forward without backtracking.”
However, US Congressman Joe Crowley criticisedthe democratic reforms in Myanmar saying, “too many political prisoners remain locked up, ethnic violence must be stopped, and not all necessary political reforms have been put in place.” It is worth emphasizing that, Crowley on 22 September, introduced the leader of the main opposition party in Burma Aung San Suu Kyi at Queens College, New York.
Furthermore, Human Right Watch reported that despite some prudent reforms by Myanmar’s government, human rights issues sustain. “Hundreds of political prisoners remain, ethnic civil war and inter-ethnic conflict has escalated, and Burmese security forces continue to use forced labour and commit extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, among other abuses.”
Because of the need for further political actions, exiled Myanmar activists criticised Obama’s visit as premature. Aung Zaw, editor of an independent publication based in neighbouring Thailand said to the press, “the ethnic minorities, all the voices from the affected areas, [have] started to question the visit…they feel it's premature to visit because they think that the president can wait until 2014, when Burma is going to be holding an ASEAN summit.” new europe
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