US to meet with Burma

"Let's be clear the president's decision to approach countries with an open hand and open up a dialogue with them is a powerful tool, at least in the initial state of opening up contacts.   Overall we are just as interested as you are in terms of what Burma's plans are -- in domestic steps and regional behavior.  So we have an open door... "

-  U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell

Reuters reports:

The United States and Myanmar plan to open a dialogue on Tuesday at a meeting in New York that U.S. officials hope may ultimately move the southeast Asian country's military rulers toward democracy.


U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell plans to meet U Thaung, Myanmar's minister of science, technology and labor, said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.

Previewing a U.S. policy review on Myanmar, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week said Washington would pursue deeper engagement with Myanmar's military rulers to try to spur democratic reform but will not ease sanctions for now.

While acknowledging economic sanctions had failed to bring about change in Myanmar, Clinton said Washington had concluded that it had to maintain them while enhancing its dialogue with the isolated Southeast Asian nation.

Myanmar plans next year to hold its first election in two decades, which the junta says will bring an end to almost five decades of unbroken military rule. Many analysts suspect the generals will still hold the real power.

On the 28th Sept. there was a 25 min. news conference on  Burma at the State Department. Here's the video.

On Wednesday the State Department's Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell will testify before the Senate sub-committee on Burma headed by Senator Webb -- a strong advocate of engagement. 

Meanwhile, "During his meeting with Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, Minister Yeo (Singapore foreign affairs min.) welcomed the shift in the positions of the US and the European Union towards engagement with Myanmar. Minister Yeo also said that the international community should take a longer term view and support Myanmar's political evolution."

Of course, supporting "Myanmar's political evolution" is easier said than done. 
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