Campbell Vows Dialogue in Burma

Meeting with the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and ethnic leaders on Wednesday, top US diplomat Kurt Campbell has vowed he will try to achieve genuine dialogue for national reconciliation in Burma.

During separate meetings with the NLD and ethnic leaders on Wednesday afternoon, Campbell, who is the US assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said dialogue between all stakeholders in Burma is important for resolving Burma’s problems, according to NLD and ethnic sources.

“Mr Campbell told NLD leaders he agrees that engaging in dialogue is an important step toward resolving problems in the country,” said Ohn Kyaing, a senior member of the NLD. “He added he came to Burma to try to establish dialogue between all parties.”

During the meeting with Campbell, NLD leaders reiterated their policy calling for the release of political prisoners, a review of the 2008 Constitution and political dialogue for national reconciliation, according to NLD sources.

“As far as I know, only Campbell did the talking. Other US officials did not,” Ohn Kyaing said.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Aye Thar Aung, an Arakan leader who met Campbell on Wednesday said Campbell told ethnic leaders that genuine dialogue is important for political development in Burma.

Campbell’s 90-minute meeting with ethnic leaders was followed by a 60-minute meeting with the NLD, which ended at 4:30 p.m.

Campbell also brought NLD opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s message to ethnic leaders who met with the US delegation after his two-hour meeting with Suu Kyi in the morning.

“According to Campbell, Suu Kyi said she is glad he is meeting ethnic leaders and this is very good,” Aye Thar Aung said.

“Campbell asked for the ethnic representatives’ perspective on the 2010 elections and he listened carefully. He said the meeting with us was good and he will come back and meet us again,” he said.

Ethnic representatives included a Chin leader, a Mon leader, two Shan leaders, one Kachin and one Karen.

Earlier Suu Kyi met with Campbell at the Inya Lake Hotel in Rangoon. The meeting lasted two hours, which was longer than Suu Kyi’s previous meetings with foreign visitors such as US Senator Jim Webb.

Burmese state-run TV aired footage of the meeting between Suu Kyi and the US delegation on Wednesday afternoon.

The US delegation arrived in Naypyidaw on Tuesday. Campbell was accompanied by Scot Marciel, the US special envoy to Southeast Asia, and Laura Scheible, the State Department’s Burma officer.

On Tuesday and Wednesday morning, the US delegation held meetings with senior junta officials. Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein met Campbell in Naypyidaw on Wednesday morning before the US delegation flew to Rangoon. 

The US summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which US President Obama is scheduled to attend, will be held on Nov. 15 in Singapore. On Wednesday, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the issue of Suu Kyi will be discussed during the summit.

“I think ASEAN's view [about Suu Kyi] is clear and we've always said that we believe she ought to be released," Lee told reporters on Wednesday. “I'm sure this will be discussed in the US-Asean summit too and I'm sure both sides will state their views.”

Lee said engagement between the US and Burma is “a good sign.”