Burmese opposition groups have welcomed the call by US President Barack Obama for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, although there is skepticism that it will be heeded by the military regime.
Obama made the call—and also urged the regime to stop violence against ethnic minority groups and to take up dialogue with democratic movements—at a summit meeting with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Singapore on Sunday.
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| US President Barack Obama waits as Asean leaders take their place for a family photo before their Asean-US meeting in Singapore. |
Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) said in Rangoon: “We welcomed that Obama called for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
Aye Tha Aung, chairman of the Arakan League for Democracy, hoped Obama’s call would help end political conflict in Burma.
“It very much depends on the desire of the regime,” he said. “It will be possible only if the regime wishes it.”
Aye Tha Aung, however, welcomed evidence that the US was getting actively involved in Burma affairs.
Junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Suu Kyi need to negotiate and get to understand each other first, proceeding then to discussions with the ethnic groups, Aye Tha Aung said.
In a letter to Than Shwe on Nov 11, Suu Kyi thanked the regime for allowing her to meet with a visiting US delegation and asked for a bilateral meeting with the junta leader. She also requested a meeting with her NLD executive committee colleagues.
Suu Kyi said she wanted to cooperate with the regime in efforts to end Western sanctions against Burma.
Burma watcher Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University’s Japan campus, said: “It is important for Aung San Suu Kyi to get involved in the process of normalizing Burma's relations with the outside world and also normalizing domestic politics.”
However, he said he suspected that Than Shwe, out of arrogance and fear, would not take up Suu Kyi’s offer of talks, preferring to leave contacts to lower level officials.
Kingston also welcomed Obama’s call, describing it as “an encouraging message for all the people of Burma and a signal that the US remains on their side against tyranny.
“His [Obama’s] staunch support for human rights and democracy in Burma is the right message and comes at a critical juncture as the junta decides what to do about elections in 2010.”
Observers doubted, however, that the Burmese regime would comply with Obama’s demands because they represented a
direct indictment of its despotism.
Before attending the US-Asean summit, Min Lwin, a senior Burmese diplomat, told reporters in Manila there was a plan to release Suu Kyi soon in order for her to organize her party.
Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the Alternative Asean Network on Burma (Altsean), said it was important that Obama and former US presidents called for the release of Suu Kyi as the Burmese regime usually disliked her name to be mentioned at regional meetings.
“Everybody understands— even Asean, and most of the governments in the region, and definitely the US—that if you want genuine change and reform in Burma, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s release is the fundamental step in that direction,” Stothard said.
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