US to engage Burmese regime, sanctions to remain

by Mungpi
Tuesday, 29 September 2009 15:15

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The United States on Monday said it will directly engage with Burma’s military regime but will continue maintaining existing sanctions, and also consult regional countries including China and India in seeking change in Burma.

Kurt M. Campbell, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told reporters on Monday that the US intends to start direct dialogue with the Burmese authorities to pave the way towards better relations.

“We recognized that ultimately, we need to change our methods but not our goals. And I think at this early stage, it’s important to suggest that we are prepared to sit down, but also recognize that nothing has changed yet on the ground or in terms of some of the activities that Burma has been involved with,” Campbell said.

The dialogue, Campbell said, will include specific discussion of democracy and human rights inside Burma, cooperation on international security issues including nonproliferation and compliance with 1874 and 1718 of the UNSC resolution, and areas that could be of mutual benefit such as counter narcotics and recovery of World War II era remains.

The US will continue to push Burma for the immediate and unconditional release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, an end to conflicts with ethnic minorities and gross human rights violations, and initiation of a credible political dialogue with the opposition and ethnic minority leaders on the process of reconciliation and reform, he added.

Campbell, who on Wednesday would testify before a Congressional Committee on Burma, said, “If Burma makes meaningful progress towards these goals, it will be possible to improve the relationship with the United States in a step-by-step process.”

But Campbell said, the US would continue to maintain existing sanctions until there is concrete progress towards reform.

“Lifting sanctions now would send the wrong signal. We will tell the Burmese that we will discuss easing sanctions only if they take actions on our core concerns. We will reserve the option to apply additional targeted sanctions, if warranted, by events inside Burma,” he added.

In terms of humanitarian assistance, Campbell said the US will continue its commitment to the Burmese people by expanding humanitarian assistance to the extent that it is believed to be reaching the people in need.

But on the Burmese junta’s planned election in 2010, Campbell said, the US will take a measured approach to the elections until the electoral conditions can be assessed and know whether opposition and ethnic groups will be able to participate.

“We are skeptical that the elections will be either free or fair, but we will stress to the Burmese the conditions that we consider necessary for a credible electoral process,” he added.

Campbell said, the US alone cannot meet all these goals and that it will increase efforts to engage its partners in intergovernmental forum and the region to promote change inside Burma.

Besides consulting the EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, and the UN and others in working towards the common goal of a democratic transition in Burma, Campbell said, “We will also intensify our engagement with ASEAN, China, and India to press the Burmese leadership to reform and to participate responsibly in the international community.”

Meanwhile, Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein, in his speech at the UN General Assembly, said sanctions are ‘unjust’ and hurt Burmese people and caused negative impacts on the economy of the country.

“Sanctions are being employed as a political tool against Myanmar [Burma] and we consider them unjust. Such acts must be stopped,” said Thein Sein.

Earlier in the day, Thein Sein met United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who reiterated his expectations that Burma would respond to the proposals he gave to Burmese senior leadership during his last visit in July.

Thein Sein, before his speech at the UNGA on Wednesday, also met Senator James Webb, who is a strong advocate of engagement with the Burmese regime, and discussed on US-Burma relations.

“The meeting was a continuation of a dialogue begun last month. The Administration’s new policy and the commitment of the Myanmar government to holding elections next year are both signals that we have the potential to change the dynamic of this important relationship,” Webb said in a statement posted on his website.