RANGOON, Burma — From businessmen chasing new markets to basketball
players serving as sports envoys, the past year has seen an
unprecedented wave of American visitors to the once-pariah state of
Burma.
On Monday, President Obama arrived.
"This is not an
endorsement of the Burmese government," Obama said Sunday in Bangkok,
the first stop on a three-nation tour that also takes him to Cambodia
Monday night. "This is an acknowledgment that there is a process
underway inside that country that even a year and a half, two years ago,
nobody foresaw," he said.
Obama's day trip Monday to Burma —
when he will meet with President Thein Sein, a former army general, and
democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi — represents the first visit to Burma by
a sitting U.S. president. The U.S. government recently began rolling
back economic sanctions against Burma, also known as Myanmar, to
recognize its transition from military rule toward a more democratic
system.
Obama will set out his message for Burma's future and
"extend the hand of friendship" today in a speech Monday at the
University of Rangoon, which authorities shuttered for years after
student protests against the regime.
"Instead of being repressed,
the right of people to assemble together must now be fully respected,"
the president said in speech excerpts released by the White House.
"Instead of being stifled, the veil of media censorship must continue to
be lifted. As you take these steps, you can draw on your progress."
U
Kyi Win, a lawyer for Suu Kyi and her formerly banned party, the
National League for Democracy, noted the significance of Obama's visit.
"In
the past, foreign governments didn't care about our country; we were
treated with very low status on the world political stage," he said.
"Now Western countries deal with us on the same level, and this comes
from the co-operation between Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi to solve
(Burma's) problems," he said Sunday.
Plenty of challenges remain,
including longstanding conflicts in border areas, ethnic violence
between Buddhist and Muslim communities, and the continued jailing of
political prisoners. Several human rights groups, such as Human Rights
Watch and U.S. Campaign for Burma, have criticized the presidential
visit as premature.
Residents of Rangoon, Burma's largest city and former capital, were ready to welcome the U.S. president.
"Many
Burmese like Obama. After he comes, there should be more development
here," said Aye Nyein San, 26, a receptionist at telecom firm
Yatanarpon.
"He can encourage the political changes here, and the
conflicts in Rakhine state and Kachin state can be solved with his
support," she said. Rakhine and Kachin are border areas where violence
has escalated in recent months.
Graffiti artist Arker Kyaw
recently sprayed a wall mural to welcome Obama in downtown Rangoon, also
known as Yangon. Video producer Thu Myat, also a graffiti artist, said
the fast growth of street art and slogans reflected the political and
social changes here. He disapproved of Kyaw's stunt as too respectful of
hierarchy — "I believe police let him do it; it's weird he was not
arrested" — but he is confident the lifting of sanctions and Obama's
visit will bring benefits. "Obama showed the green light to every
country," he said. "Now Burmese people must grab the opportunity for
themselves."
Sandy and Bill Hitchcock from Laguna Beach, Calif.,
flew into Rangoon on Sunday for a nine-day tour. Two other couples they
will meet later, in Cambodia, declined to join them in Burma.
"They
don't like the political regime here," said Sandy Hitchcock, 63. "I
want to see it before it becomes the next big tourist trap," she said.
The tide of visitors already threatens to overwhelm Burma's limited
capacity for tourism. "The airport now receives twice as many visitors
as it was built for," Khin Mi Mi Tin, of the tourism ministry, said
Sunday at the Rangoon airport. "We are building more hotels, but even
the new hotels are fully booked."
"All of Myanmar likes Obama," she said. "He is interested in Asia and can help push us further towards democracy."
