US takes hands-off stance on future of Suu Kyi

Despite hailing Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as “an icon of democracy,” US President Barack Obama is quietly acquiescing to the government's decision to bar her from running for the presidency in next year's election, US officials say.

Obama, who visits Myanmar next week, appears to be balancing his push for democratic reforms with a desire to maintain influence with a government that remains deeply suspicious of Suu Kyi and is led by some of the same former generals who kept her under house arrest for 15 years.

US reluctance to press for assurances that the Nobel Peace Prize winner can contest next year's general election is sure to disappoint her supporters, some of whom spent years in prison until the Southeast Asian country ended 49 years of direct military rule in 2011 and launched reforms.

Whether or not Suu Kyi is allowed to run is "not the standard we're setting" to judge whether the 2015 electoral outcome is credible, a senior US official told Reuters.

"What's important is that the people of Burma debate what the future of their democracy is," the senior official said in Washington, referring to Myanmar by its former name.

"We can't prejudice the outcome, nor would we as a modern democracy. We're not going to weigh in and say a certain person should run in the election."

Suu Kyi is ineligible for the presidency because Myanmar's military-drafted constitution bars candidates with a foreign child or spouse. Her late husband was British, as are her two sons.

The official said, however, that Obama would press for an election that is "free, fair, open and credible" and seek unspecified constitutional changes. Obama will also press Myanmar's leaders to end persecution of religious minorities including Rohingya Muslims in western Rakhine State, the official said.

A backdrop to Washington's decision not to press too hard on behalf of Suu Kyi is China, Myanmar's giant northern neighbor. During its long isolation, Myanmar relied on Beijing as its closest ally, but concern has deepened over China's growing influence over Myanmar's economy, partly prompting the shift to improve ties with Washington.

The risk for US policymakers is that pushing reforms too aggressively could backfire and lead Myanmar back into Beijing's embrace.