Originally published on the CGS blog on January 13, 2012.
The United States announced today that they will resume diplomatic relations with Myanmar. The U.S. and Myanmar have had tense relations since 1988, when Myanmar’s military staged a coup and violently suppressed pro-democracy demonstrators. In response, the State Department downgraded U.S. representation from Ambassador to Charge d’Affaires, and the U.S. has since criticized military leaders and enforced sanctions due to the military junta’s oppressive methods of control and human rights violations.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has made much progress in the last year on democratic reform, starting with the end of military rule last March. Since then, the civilian government in Myanmar has released opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, opened up April elections to opposition parties, announced a ceasefire with a rebel group from the Karen ethnic minority group and, most recently, announced that they will release 651 political prisoners. Secretary Clinton visited Myanmar last December to discuss further opening economic and diplomatic relations based on these positive steps, the first such visit by a top U.S. official since 1955. The U.S. decision to increase relations with Myanmar also comes as a part of a greater effort by the Obama Administration to increase U.S. relations in region of Asia as a whole.
The democratic reform and improvement of diplomatic relations with the U.S. serve as a positive example of the power of diplomacy. Much of the diplomatic progress made in the last several years came from a reevaluation of U.S. policy towards Myanmar made by the Obama Administration in 2009. The review “concluded that, in addition to tools the United States has long applied to achieve its goals in Burma–sanctions and support for the democratic opposition–it would expand humanitarian assistance and engage in direct, senior-level dialogue with Burmese authorities.” While the changes also reflect a decades-long struggle by the Burmese people protesting against tyranny, President Obama and Secretary Clinton have proven that it is possible to help to bring about change in a country notorious for its human rights violations by offering incentives and economic aid. We hope the newly strengthened diplomatic ties between Myanmar and the United States will only serve to further cement these reforms in the coming months.
