Mr Obama has already come under fire from human rights groups for agreeing to
visit Burma in the wake of deadly clashes between the Muslim Rohingya
minority and the Buddhist majority in western Burma, and while hundreds of
political prisoners remain in jail.
On Monday, the Burmese authorities announced the release of a further 66
political detainees, but the opposition National League for Democracy
estimate that at least 180 more are still imprisoned.
During an afternoon speech at Rangoon University, President Obama made no
direct call for the release of the remaining political prisoners. But he did
speak of "a future where one prisoner of conscience is one too many".
He was far more direct in calling for an end to the sectarian violence in
western Burma's Rakhine State. "For the sake of this country's future,
it is necessary to stop the violence," said Mr Obama. He went on to
hint at the need for changes to Burma's restrictive nationality laws that
render the Rohingya stateless.
"Only the people of this country can define what it is means to be a
citizen of this country," he said. "But I have confidence that as
you do that you can draw on this diversity as a strength and not a weakness."
Washington was insistent that President Obama's six hour trip to Burma be
confined to Rangoon, and not the new capital of Naypyidaw which was created
by the former military regime, the State Peace and Development Council.
But as well as announcing £107 million in aid to the country, the US president
delighted his hosts with the diplomatic courtesy of referring to the country
as "Myanmar" during his meeting with President Thein Sein. Both
the US and Britain use Burma rather than Myanmar, the name given to the
country by the former junta.
The choice of the Convocation Hall at Rangoon University for President Obama's
speech was highly symbolic. The university was at the centre of the 1988
student protests that were crushed by the military junta and led to the
country being treated as a pariah state for over two decades.
Before his speech, the President met a number of pro-democracy activists from
the 1988 generation. "I was impressed by Obama. He listened carefully
and said he would do what he could," Myo Yan Naung Thein, a student
leader who was imprisoned for almost a decade, told the Daily Telegraph.
But President Obama's remarks were greeted politely rather than with rapturous
applause. His frequent extolling of the United States as a model for Burma
to follow was not appreciated by all the audience.
"I didn't like the speech too much. Our country has changed a lot since
the start of the reforms. He doesn't seem to think that. He wants us to
follow the example of the US, but we need to find our own way," said
Phyo Si Thar, a 22-year-old student from Burma's Maritime University.
Yet even critics of his speech conceded that President Obama's visit has
energised the country.
"His visit has made people happy and more optimistic about the future,"
said Nyun Ling, a professor at Burma's Institute of Theology who attended
the speech. "We want to see real change and we expect it. There's still
no timetable, but after this the process will have to speed up."
After just six hours on Burmese soil, Mr Obama made history again by becoming
the first US president to set foot in Cambodia, a country once known for its
Khmer Rouge "killing fields".
Unlike the visit to Burma, where Mr Obama seemed to revel in that nation's new
hope, Mr Obama was highly critical of Cambodia's poor record on human rights.
Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2012/11/20/barack-obama-lauds-burmas-remarkable-journey/
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