Myanmar vowed on Saturday to address concerns raised by President Barack Obama, outlining far-reaching plans to make peace with ethnic rebels, gradually release all political prisoners and relax controls on freedom of expression. But its government, fearing an Arab Spring-style revolution if it moves too quickly, stressed reforms must be gradual after nearly a half century of isolation and authoritarian rule that ended when the army handed power in March to a civilian parliament stacked with former generals. No longer Southeast Asia’s pariah state, Myanmar won a powerful endorsement on Friday when Obama announced Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would visit the resource-rich country neighboring China, the highest-ranking American to do so since a 1962 military coup. Obama cited “flickers of progress.” That came a day after Southeast Asian leaders approved of Myanmar, also known as Burma, as chairman of its regional ASEAN bloc in 2014, paving the way for a more influential role. “We are trying our best to make an effective transition to democracy,” Ko Ko Hlaing, chief political adviser to President Thein Sein, told Reuters in a wide-ranging, hour-long interview on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Bali, Indonesia. The fact he spoke at all…
- Democrats, Republicans fight to a redistricting stalemate
- The GOP’s Fake Border War
- Democrats, Republicans Fight To A Redistricting Stalemate
- Conservatives Battle GOP Leaders On Immigration
- A Guide To California’s Competitive House Races
- Most officers never fire their guns. But some kill multiple people — and are still on the job.
- Wajahat Ali’s Helpful Guide to Becoming an American
- Cancel Zoning
- Twilight of the Bay Area NIMBY
Emboldened by Obama, Myanmar maps out reforms have 260 words, post on at October 30, 2011. This is cached page on CuBird. If you want remove this page, please contact us.