By FOSTER KLUG
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON -- A senior U.S. official on Wednesday defended the United States' ability to push for democratic change in Myanmar, saying an unfinished Obama administration review of Myanmar policy has not hindered U.S. diplomacy with the military-run country.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scot Marciel told reporters that Myanmar's trial of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has slowed the policy review that began in February. The Myanmar charges could carry up to a five-year prison term for Suu Kyi.
But Marciel, who also serves as U.S. ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will "express our concerns quite clearly" about Myanmar at next week's meeting of foreign ministers from the 10-member ASEAN.
Myanmar, which has been ruled by military juntas since 1962, is a member of ASEAN. The country, also known as Burma, and its treatment of Suu Kyi are expected to be major topics of discussion at the Thailand meeting.
"We're not left empty handed or frozen, if you will, by the fact that the review is not completed," Marciel said. "We've been extremely active on Burma policy."
He described the United States' "fundamental policy" as an effort to encourage Myanmar's government - through public statements and private diplomacy - to talk with opposition leaders, release political prisoners and open up to the outside world. The policy review, he said, is meant to find ways the United States can more effectively push for change in Myanmar.
Not having the review finished, Marciel said, "doesn't mean that we're without diplomatic tools."
U.S. officials have repeatedly called for Suu Kyi's release. She faces charges that she violated the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man who entered her residence. Expectations are that the 63-year-old Nobel laureate will be found guilty by a court known for handing out harsh sentences to political dissidents.
Clinton and other top Obama officials have indicated that past U.S. policy toward Myanmar has not produced results.
Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, gave a hint last month of a possible new direction in U.S. policy. He said that the United States was "prepared to reach out" to Myanmar. But, he said, the junta's trial of Suu Kyi was "deeply, deeply concerning, and it makes it very difficult to move forward."
The United States has traditionally relied on tough sanctions meant to force Myanmar's generals to respect human rights and release thousands of imprisoned political activists. Those sanctions are widely supported among both senior Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the United States.
Clinton, on a trip through Asia in February, said neither U.S. sanctions nor engagement by Myanmar's neighbors have persuaded the junta to embrace democracy or release Suu Kyi.
It has been 19 years since Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory at the ballot box but was prevented from taking office. She has been detained without trial for more than 13 of the past 19 years, including the last six.
Marciel said that, in addition to Myanmar, he expected ministers at the meetings in Thailand to discuss climate change, disaster relief, North Korea's nuclear programs, pandemic influenza and other issues.
Clinton, he said, is also to hold a meeting with the foreign ministers from Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand on health and environmental issues in the Mekong River region.
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON -- A senior U.S. official on Wednesday defended the United States' ability to push for democratic change in Myanmar, saying an unfinished Obama administration review of Myanmar policy has not hindered U.S. diplomacy with the military-run country.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scot Marciel told reporters that Myanmar's trial of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has slowed the policy review that began in February. The Myanmar charges could carry up to a five-year prison term for Suu Kyi.
But Marciel, who also serves as U.S. ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will "express our concerns quite clearly" about Myanmar at next week's meeting of foreign ministers from the 10-member ASEAN.
Myanmar, which has been ruled by military juntas since 1962, is a member of ASEAN. The country, also known as Burma, and its treatment of Suu Kyi are expected to be major topics of discussion at the Thailand meeting.
"We're not left empty handed or frozen, if you will, by the fact that the review is not completed," Marciel said. "We've been extremely active on Burma policy."
He described the United States' "fundamental policy" as an effort to encourage Myanmar's government - through public statements and private diplomacy - to talk with opposition leaders, release political prisoners and open up to the outside world. The policy review, he said, is meant to find ways the United States can more effectively push for change in Myanmar.
Not having the review finished, Marciel said, "doesn't mean that we're without diplomatic tools."
U.S. officials have repeatedly called for Suu Kyi's release. She faces charges that she violated the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man who entered her residence. Expectations are that the 63-year-old Nobel laureate will be found guilty by a court known for handing out harsh sentences to political dissidents.
Clinton and other top Obama officials have indicated that past U.S. policy toward Myanmar has not produced results.
Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, gave a hint last month of a possible new direction in U.S. policy. He said that the United States was "prepared to reach out" to Myanmar. But, he said, the junta's trial of Suu Kyi was "deeply, deeply concerning, and it makes it very difficult to move forward."
The United States has traditionally relied on tough sanctions meant to force Myanmar's generals to respect human rights and release thousands of imprisoned political activists. Those sanctions are widely supported among both senior Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the United States.
Clinton, on a trip through Asia in February, said neither U.S. sanctions nor engagement by Myanmar's neighbors have persuaded the junta to embrace democracy or release Suu Kyi.
It has been 19 years since Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory at the ballot box but was prevented from taking office. She has been detained without trial for more than 13 of the past 19 years, including the last six.
Marciel said that, in addition to Myanmar, he expected ministers at the meetings in Thailand to discuss climate change, disaster relief, North Korea's nuclear programs, pandemic influenza and other issues.
Clinton, he said, is also to hold a meeting with the foreign ministers from Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand on health and environmental issues in the Mekong River region.
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