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New Burmese government 'reformist and open-minded': US
Irrawaddy - October 7, 2011
"We are gratified that we have a more reformist, more open-minded government in Burma that we can work with. If that were the situation in Syria, then we would be in a different place," the US State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, told reporters at her daily news conference.
"The number one thing that has changed in Burma is we have a new set of leaders who are more willing to work cooperatively with the opposition," Nuland said in response to a question.
However, she said, the recent signs of reform in Burma are just a start. "We don't disagree that there is a huge amount of work to be done in Burma," she said.
"My point was simply that we have a new government in Burma that seems to be making more efforts than its predecessor in terms of engaging Aung San Suu Kyi and engaging civil society, in terms of thinking twice about things like the dam in the north that have been so controversial among the Burmese population. And we want to encourage that trend. And we are trying to do so," she said.
Asked if Burma has been a topic of discussion with India and China, Nuland said that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had spoken about the country with the Chinese and Indian ambassadors during bilateral talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York last month.
Meanwhile, prominent American senator John McCain commended the decision of the Burmese government to suspend the Myitsone dam project in northern Burma's Kachin State last week.
"I commend President Thein Sein and other government leaders in Naypyidaw for their bold and responsible decision to suspend construction of the Myitsone dam project, which has been estimated to do irreparable harm to the Irrawaddy River," he said.
"More than any issue in recent memory, this project and its reportedly disastrous environmental impact have united the Burmese people in overwhelming public opposition," the senator said.
McCain said it was to the credit of Thein Sein and his allies in government that, in the face of considerable internal and external pressure, they listened to the voice of the people and made a dramatic change in government policy for the sake of the public interest.
"This was a democratic act, and I hope the government in Naypyidaw will continue to respond to the peaceful will of the people to make additional positive changes in other areas," McCain said.
In an interview with The New York Times, Derek Mitchell, the new US special envoy to Burma, also acknowledged recent evidence of reforms in the country.
"We're going to meet their action with action. If they take steps, we will take steps to demonstrate that we are supportive of the path to reform," said Mitchell, who spent five days in Burma last month and attended two meetings in New York and Washington last week between senior State Department officials and Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin.
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