US, Myanmar restore diplomatic ties
Source: Agencies |
January 15, 2012, Sunday
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THE United States is restoring full diplomatic relations with Myanmar, a landmark in the Obama administration's drive to reward democratic reforms by a government the US previously treated as a pariah.
The decision announced on Friday to exchange ambassadors with Myanmar for the first time in two decades followed the release of hundreds of political prisoners, but Washington probably will be looking for fair conduct in coming elections and an end to ethnic violence before it lifts sanctions.
Myanmar President Thein Sein pardoned 651 detainees on Friday, among them leaders of brutally repressed uprisings, heads of ethnic minority groups, journalists and even a former prime minister who had been blamed himself for incarcerating activists.
US President Barack Obama, in a statement, described the pardons as "a substantial step forward for democratic reform."
The US decision follows a historic visit by Hillary Rodham Clinton in December, the first by a secretary of state in 56 years, as a way to deepen engagement and encourage more openness in the country. That is part of a broader administration policy to step up US involvement across the Asia-Pacific region.
"As I said last December, the United States will meet action with action," Clinton said at the State Department. "Based on the steps taken so far, we will now begin."
The highest-level US diplomat based in Myanmar has been a charge d'affaires rather than an ambassador.
Clinton cautioned that exchanging ambassadors is a lengthy process - any candidate for US ambassador requires Senate confirmation - and that the process would depend on continued progress toward reform.
A senior State Department official indicated that the administration was now actively considering easing restrictions but said it did not want to "over-promise and under-deliver."
Speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, the official said the administration is beginning a dialogue with US lawmakers who are important to implementing and interpreting sanctions.
The decision announced on Friday to exchange ambassadors with Myanmar for the first time in two decades followed the release of hundreds of political prisoners, but Washington probably will be looking for fair conduct in coming elections and an end to ethnic violence before it lifts sanctions.
Myanmar President Thein Sein pardoned 651 detainees on Friday, among them leaders of brutally repressed uprisings, heads of ethnic minority groups, journalists and even a former prime minister who had been blamed himself for incarcerating activists.
US President Barack Obama, in a statement, described the pardons as "a substantial step forward for democratic reform."
The US decision follows a historic visit by Hillary Rodham Clinton in December, the first by a secretary of state in 56 years, as a way to deepen engagement and encourage more openness in the country. That is part of a broader administration policy to step up US involvement across the Asia-Pacific region.
"As I said last December, the United States will meet action with action," Clinton said at the State Department. "Based on the steps taken so far, we will now begin."
The highest-level US diplomat based in Myanmar has been a charge d'affaires rather than an ambassador.
Clinton cautioned that exchanging ambassadors is a lengthy process - any candidate for US ambassador requires Senate confirmation - and that the process would depend on continued progress toward reform.
A senior State Department official indicated that the administration was now actively considering easing restrictions but said it did not want to "over-promise and under-deliver."
Speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, the official said the administration is beginning a dialogue with US lawmakers who are important to implementing and interpreting sanctions.
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