Suu Kyi, US official discuss sanctions
A senior US official discussed sanctions against Myanmar's military government in talks Friday with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the first by a Washington official since recent elections and the release of the Nobel laureate from house arrest.
Joseph Y Yun, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the meeting with Suu Kyi at her lakeside home was "very productive."
"I learned a lot and I'll get back to Washington now to digest the three days of meetings here," he told reporters. During his visit, Yun also met Foreign Minister Nyan Win and other government officials, members of several political parties and UN representatives.
The visit came after Nov 7 elections that were widely criticized as a sham to cement military rule.
Suu Kyi was released after the elections from seven years of detention. Her National League for Democracy party did not take part in the balloting, and was disbanded by the government as a result.
Suu Kyi told reporters that she and Yun "discussed a number of issues including sanctions," but did not elaborate.
Bilateral ties have been strained since Myanmar's military crushed pro-democracy protests in 1988. Since then, Washington has been Myanmar's strongest critic, applying political and economic sanctions against its junta for its poor human rights record and failure to make democratic reforms.
Last year President Barack Obama reversed the Bush administration's policy of isolation of Myanmar, saying it had been largely ineffective, in favor of a dialogue with the junta in hopes of coaxing democratic change.
The U.S. has said it will maintain sanctions until concrete progress is made on democratic reforms.
Suu Kyi has been a vocal support of sanctions as a way to pressure the junta to come to an accommodation with the pro-democracy movement.
But in late 2009, she wrote to junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe stating her willingness to cooperate in having international sanctions eased -- an apparent shift that was seen as a gesture toward reconciliation. She has been noncommittal on sanctions since her release last month, saying she would back their removal if Myanmar's people want them lifted.
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