quinta-feira, 30 de dezembro de 2010

U.S. wants more engagement with Suu Kyi

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Washington aims to engage the military junta in Myanmar with the aim of advancing democracy and freeing political prisoners, a spokesman said.

Myanmar had general elections in November in what the military junta said was a step toward a democratic government. International observers doubted the claims as the junta-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party handily won the contest.

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest shortly after the election.

Mark Toner, a deputy spokesman for the U.S. State Department, said Washington hopes to engage Suu Kyi and the junta leaders in 2011.

"We've sought a path of principled engagement with the Myanmar government," he told reporters during a press briefing in Washington. "We haven't had a great deal of success".

The international community following Suu Kyi's release said Myanmar could do more to address concerns about the 2,000 political prisoners behind bars in the country.

"(C)ertainly we call on the release of all of Myanmar's political prisoners and hope to work more closely with Aung San Suu Kyi and the opposition there," added Toner.

The opposition leader in a mid-December interview with Germany's Deutsche Welle said "it would help a great deal" if Europe, for its part, did more to help usher in reforms in Myanmar. UPI