WASHINGTON — The Obama Administration said that it is hopeful recent developments in Burma would lead to dialogue between the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese military junta.
“We are aware of this letter that she [Suu Kyi] has written to the senior general, and we hope that this will be the beginning of a dialogue that will lead to her release,” the State Department spokesman, Ian Kelly, told reporters at a daily news briefing on Thursday in Washington, DC.
The detained Burmese opposition leader wrote that she is ready to cooperate with Burma’s ruling junta in discussions on how to end the economic sanctions applied against the country by the US, the European Union and other countries.
Suu Kyi’s letter to junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe was released by her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), on Tuesday. She had been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.
The release of Suu Kyi along with other political prisoners and a dialogue between the military junta and opposition leaders is the top priority of the Obama administration, Kelly said.
After months of review, the Obama administration in September announced a new policy on Burma which includes dialogue and economic sanctions. Since then there have been two rounds of US-Burma talks.
US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both called for a resumption of dialogue, the release of Suu Kyi and the restoration of democracy in the country.
“We have started a new, very focused dialogue with the government of Burma. This has been a dialogue that, as I say, is focused on the need for Burma to open up its political system for more debate and discussion,” Kelly said in response to a question.
“I think one of the best steps that they (junta) could take to show that they are willing to open up their system is to release political prisoners. There are over 2,000 of them. And of course, we've called, in particular, for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said.
Meanwhile, an influential underground alliance of Burmese pro-democracy activists—the All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA), 88 Generation Students and All Burma Federation of Student Unions—have thrown their support behind Suu Kyi’s requests for a meeting with Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
Their statement also supported the Shwegonetaing Declaration, a policy declaration of Suu Kyi’s party, described as “pragmatic and dignified political guidance for the people.”
In the declaration released in April, the NLD outlined five guiding principles that need to be place in order to have true national reconciliation: the release of all the political prisoners, a review of the 2008 Constitution, to allow NLD and ethnic nationality offices to reopen, recognition of the 1990 election result and political dialogue between opposition parties and ethnic groups.
Ashin Issariya, one of the leaders of ABMA, the group that spearheaded the 2007 Saffron Revolution, told The Irrawaddy on Friday, “Now we all need to unite and solve problems peacefully. If the Burmese junta really wants to practice democratic ways, it must negotiate and conduct a dialogue with the NLD and all opposition parties and groups.”
Arkar Moe contributed to this report.
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