Myanmar's road to reform
February 7, 2012
Pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi hit the parliamentary campaign trail on Tuesday as the United States lifted one of its many sanctions against Myanmar, further signs of the Southeast Asian nation's fragile path toward political reform.
Suu Kyi announced her intention last month to run in Myanmar's April elections under the banner of the opposition National League for Democracy. The Nobel laureate had spent most of the last two decades under house arrest, until she was released by the country's military junta in November 2010.
Her release came shortly after the decades-old military junta had handed over power to a nominally civilian government, led by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The USDP has instituted a series of political reforms that have included the release of hundreds of political prisoners, the signing of truces with ethnic rebels and the easing of censorship laws.
Suu Kyi made a four-hour trip from Yangon on Tuesday to a region that was devastated by Cyclone Nargis in 2008. Cheering crowds greeted her at major towns along the away, waving bouquets of roses and yelling "We love Mother Suu."
US sanction eased
The US has eased one of its many sanctions on Myanmar as a reward for the government's political reforms. Washington lifted its opposition to the World Bank and other financial institutions conducting assessments in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, under a provision in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
But Washington's toughest economic, trade and political restrictions are to remain in place until more progress is made on democracy and human rights reform, according to US officials.
A US State Department statement on Monday said that assessments by the World Bank and other financial institutions will create greater understanding of Myanmar's economic situation and its "severe poverty alleviation needs."
"The United States remains committed to supporting and partnering with the Burmese government along the path of reform," the statement said.
In December 2011, Hillary Clinton became the first US secretary of state to visit Myanmar in 56 years. Washington has also restored full diplomatic relations with Myanmar, which had been on ice for 20 years.
slk/ncy (AP, AFP)