State media in army-ruled Myanmar yesterday hailed the visit by a US senator as a success and said it allowed the authorities to show their friendliness and respect for human rights.
A commentary carried by three official newspapers said US Democrat Senator Jim Webb’s three-day visit, the first by a senior US figure in more than a decade, demonstrated Myanmar’s openness towards international engagement.
“The visit of Mr Jim Webb is a success for both sides as well as the first step to the promotion of relations between the two countries,” the commentary said. “The Myanmar government was able to show a positive and friendly attitude in the area of international relations. It has also been able to show its respect of humanitarianism and human rights.”
Webb met at the weekend with junta supremo Than Shwe and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was sent back to her lakeside home on Aug. 11 to serve another 18 months’ house arrest for violating an internal security law.
He called, unsuccessfully, for the Nobel peace laureate to be freed during talks that secured the release of US citizen John Yettaw, who was jailed on charges stemming from a swim to her home, which led to her latest trial.
The US is reviewing its policy towards Myanmar, and has extended a ban on US investment and imports from the country.
In Bangkok on Monday, Webb said he had urged the generals to allow Aung San Suu Kyi to take part in Myanmar’s political reform process and to ensure next year’s elections — the first in two decades — were free, fair and inclusive.
“I was very frank with [Than Shwe] in terms of my views,” said Webb, chairman of a Senate subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific. “The best thing on those issues is to see how the government responds.”
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