Events Calendar
In This Section
IRA dissidents accused of planting bomb in Belfast
Algerian court acquits former Guantanamo inmates
Afghan militias form to fight Taliban regime
Pope, archbishop seek stronger ties
Afghan police jeopardize plans to transfer security
World Briefs: 5 dead in gun rampage on Mariana Islands
Fingers, tooth said to be Galileo's are found
Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Does it work? Test team returns to try out new products advertised on television
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Sunday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Browns sick after sick loss in Detroit
Akron Zips:
Zips advance to Sweet Sixteen
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Post-game defensive quotes
Kent State Sports:
Kent State defeats Rochester College, 63-44
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
The Sunday Sanity Challenge
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (69) The Brookings Institute Study on "Bending the Curve" – Four General Strategies
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – You are All Wrong About Jobs, or the Lack of Jobs, Being the Reason People Do Not Live in NEO
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
By Associated Press
POSTED: 02:18 p.m. EST, Nov 04, 2009
YANGON, MYANMAR: The highest-ranking American diplomat to visit Myanmar in 14 years offered improved relations today if its military regime moves toward democracy, putting into action the Obama administration's new policy of engagement with the isolated country.
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke after both talks with the ruling generals and a rare meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been under house arrest for most of the last two decades.
Campbell called on the military which has ruled the impoverished country since 1962 to open a dialogue with the opposition and ethnic minority groups, which are seeking a measure of autonomy. He also urged the military government to allow Suu Kyi more freedom to meet with people concerned with the political process, particularly her own party's senior executives.
The goals of the new U.S. 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 declared to reporters at the end of his two-day visit. He met this morning with Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein.
Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel, are the highest-ranking American officials to visit Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1995, when then-U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright made an official visit.
Suu Kyi, 64, has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years and until recently was allowed regular visits only from her doctor, and very occasional ones from visiting U.N. emissaries seeking to mediate with the government.
For years, the United States had isolated the junta diplomatically and applied political and economic sanctions, which have failed to force the generals to respect human rights or release jailed political activists. The Obama administration decided recently to step up diplomatic engagement as a way of promoting reforms.
However, while U.S. officials are now sitting down with the generals, Washington has said it will maintain the sanctions until talks result in change.
Myanmar's reclusive ruling generals rarely speak to reporters. However, state television, which on Tuesday ignored the Americans' visit, broadcast footage of Campbell's meetings with both Suu Kyi and the prime minister.
Campbell, the top State Department official for East Asia, said he told junta officials that the U.S. ''is prepared to take steps to improve the relationship but that process must be based on reciprocal and concrete efforts by the Burmese government.'' Washington refers to Myanmar as Burma, the name by which it was known before being changed by the junta.
Myanmar's junta has praised the new U.S. policy, but shown no sign it intends to release Suu Kyi or initiate democratic and electoral reforms demanded by Suu Kyi's party ahead of elections planned for next year.
Earlier today, Campbell greeted Suu Kyi with a handshake after she was driven to his lakeside hotel in Yangon, where they met privately for two hours, U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Mei said.
Dressed in a pink traditional Burmese jacket, she was upbeat as she emerged from the hotel.
''Hello to you all,'' she said to photographers before getting into the car that whisked her back to her tightly guarded home. Campbell did not divulge details of their conversation.
Other senior members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party met with Campbell afterward, and asked about her health.
He told them Suu Kyi ''is the most active and energetic 64-year old woman he had ever met,'' said party spokesman Khin Maung Swe.
Suu Kyi's party has not yet decided whether to take part in the 2010 polls, which it says were set up under a constitution established last year by undemocratic means. The constitution includes provisions that would bar Suu Kyi from holding office and ensure the military a controlling stake in government.
Suu Kyi was recently sentenced to an additional 18 months of house arrest for briefly sheltering an uninvited American, in a trial that drew global condemnation. The sentence means she will not be able to participate in next year's elections, the first in two decades.
But the junta has made some conciliatory gestures, such as loosening the terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest and allowing her more meetings with visitors.
Campbell was continuing talks he began in September in New York with senior Myanmar officials, which were the first such high-level contact in nearly a decade.
Campbell said he emphasized that Myanmar ''should abide by U.N. resolutions with regards to proliferation.'' He did not elaborate, but was apparently referring to arms purchases from North Korea. There is also some speculation, though no evidence has been made public, that Myanmar is seeking to develop nuclear weapons with North Korea's help.
YANGON, MYANMAR: The highest-ranking American diplomat to visit Myanmar in 14 years offered improved relations today if its military regime moves toward democracy, putting into action the Obama administration's new policy of engagement with the isolated country.
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke after both talks with the ruling generals and a rare meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been under house arrest for most of the last two decades.
Campbell called on the military which has ruled the impoverished country since 1962 to open a dialogue with the opposition and ethnic minority groups, which are seeking a measure of autonomy. He also urged the military government to allow Suu Kyi more freedom to meet with people concerned with the political process, particularly her own party's senior executives.
The goals of the new U.S. 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 declared to reporters at the end of his two-day visit. He met this morning with Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein.
Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel, are the highest-ranking American officials to visit Myanmar, also known as Burma, since 1995, when then-U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright made an official visit.
Suu Kyi, 64, has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years and until recently was allowed regular visits only from her doctor, and very occasional ones from visiting U.N. emissaries seeking to mediate with the government.
For years, the United States had isolated the junta diplomatically and applied political and economic sanctions, which have failed to force the generals to respect human rights or release jailed political activists. The Obama administration decided recently to step up diplomatic engagement as a way of promoting reforms.
However, while U.S. officials are now sitting down with the generals, Washington has said it will maintain the sanctions until talks result in change.
Myanmar's reclusive ruling generals rarely speak to reporters. However, state television, which on Tuesday ignored the Americans' visit, broadcast footage of Campbell's meetings with both Suu Kyi and the prime minister.
Campbell, the top State Department official for East Asia, said he told junta officials that the U.S. ''is prepared to take steps to improve the relationship but that process must be based on reciprocal and concrete efforts by the Burmese government.'' Washington refers to Myanmar as Burma, the name by which it was known before being changed by the junta.
Myanmar's junta has praised the new U.S. policy, but shown no sign it intends to release Suu Kyi or initiate democratic and electoral reforms demanded by Suu Kyi's party ahead of elections planned for next year.
Earlier today, Campbell greeted Suu Kyi with a handshake after she was driven to his lakeside hotel in Yangon, where they met privately for two hours, U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Mei said.
Dressed in a pink traditional Burmese jacket, she was upbeat as she emerged from the hotel.
''Hello to you all,'' she said to photographers before getting into the car that whisked her back to her tightly guarded home. Campbell did not divulge details of their conversation.
Other senior members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party met with Campbell afterward, and asked about her health.
He told them Suu Kyi ''is the most active and energetic 64-year old woman he had ever met,'' said party spokesman Khin Maung Swe.
Suu Kyi's party has not yet decided whether to take part in the 2010 polls, which it says were set up under a constitution established last year by undemocratic means. The constitution includes provisions that would bar Suu Kyi from holding office and ensure the military a controlling stake in government.
Suu Kyi was recently sentenced to an additional 18 months of house arrest for briefly sheltering an uninvited American, in a trial that drew global condemnation. The sentence means she will not be able to participate in next year's elections, the first in two decades.
But the junta has made some conciliatory gestures, such as loosening the terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest and allowing her more meetings with visitors.
Campbell was continuing talks he began in September in New York with senior Myanmar officials, which were the first such high-level contact in nearly a decade.
Campbell said he emphasized that Myanmar ''should abide by U.N. resolutions with regards to proliferation.'' He did not elaborate, but was apparently referring to arms purchases from North Korea. There is also some speculation, though no evidence has been made public, that Myanmar is seeking to develop nuclear weapons with North Korea's help.
