Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton embraces Aung San Suu Kyi outside the human rights leader's home in Rangoon

By MacKenzie C. Babb
IIP Staff WriterWashington,
02 December 2011

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with ethnic group and civil society leaders, including human rights activist and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, in Burma after talks with government officials to discuss the country’s recent steps toward political reform.

“The United States wants to be a partner with Burma,” Clinton said December 2 as she finished a three-day official visit to the country in Rangoon. “We want to work with you as you further democratize, as you release all political prisoners, as you begin the necessary process of ending the ethnic conflicts that have gone on far too long, as you hold elections that are free, fair and credible,” she said.

The secretary spoke from Suu Kyi’s home, where the pro-democracy leader spent a total of 15 years under house arrest before her November 2010 release. Clinton and Suu Kyi addressed reporters there after meeting December 1 and 2 to discuss the country’s latest efforts to reform.

Calling Clinton’s visit a “historical moment,” Suu Kyi said international engagement will be critical to ensuring Burma stays on the path toward democracy.

“We need the help not just of the United States, but of other members of the international community,” Suu Kyi said. “We need capacity-building in Burma, we need technical assistance, we are very eager that the time will soon come when the World Bank can send in an assessment team to find out what it is that our country really needs.”

The opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner emphasized the immediate need to end the country’s violence, calling a cessation to civil war a chance to “build up ethnic harmony and peace and a union that is prosperous and stable.”

Suu Kyi also highlighted the pressing need to establish the rule of law in the country, saying that it will be critical to ensuring the end of political imprisonment in Burma.

“We need all those who are still in prison to be released, and we need to ensure that no more are arrested in future for their beliefs,” Suu Kyi said. “This is why we put so much emphasis on rule of law, and I am confident that the United States and our other friends will help us in our endeavors to bring rule of law to this country.”

Clinton commended the recent release of 200 prisoners of conscience by Burmese President Thein Sein, but said that more than 1,000 are still not free. She also praised the easing of restrictions on the media and the opening of a dialogue with opposition leaders. While she said much work remains, Clinton pledged the United States will continue to support Burma as it works toward reform. Suu Kyi expressed appreciation for this commitment, and said that “if we go forward together, I am confident that there will be no turning back from the road toward democracy.”

Calling Suu Kyi “an inspiration” and commending the Burmese people for being “courageous and strong in the face of great difficulty,” Clinton said the United States wants to see Burma “take its rightful place in the world.”

“We want to see every child here given the chance for a good education, for the health care that he or she needs, for a job that will support a family,” the secretary said. “We want to be a partner with you, with the new government and with all people of goodwill who want finally to see the future that is right there waiting realized for every single citizen.”

Clinton met with President Thein Sein, Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and top members of parliament in Burmese capital Nay Pyi Taw ahead of her talks with Suu Kyi and civil society leaders in Rangoon. Her trip, the first by a U.S. secretary of state in more than 50 years, comes at the direction of President Obama, who called it a “historic opportunity for progress” and a chance for Burma to forge a new relationship with the United States.