US diplomats to Burma

On November 3, two senior U.S. officials arrived in Myanmar for the first official visit of high level since 1995. Kurt Campbell, deputy U.S. Secretary of State for  East Asia and the Pacific, and his deputy Scot Marciel met leading officials of the Burmese military regime today in Naydyidaw, the two diplomats in Yangon tomorrow will meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The mission of the two U.S. officials - the highest since the mission of former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in '95 - is a signal of change of the Obama administration's policy toward Myanmar. Sanctions are maintained, but at the same time, a diplomatic channel is being opened with the junta. However, analysts and policy experts do not expect much from the Burmese trip.  

Campbell and Marciel should meet Thein Sein, Prime Minister of Myanmar, but there is little chance of a face to face with the chief Than Shwe, leader of the military dictatorship. Tomorrow they travel to Yangon, the former capital, to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, whose terms of house arrest were recently extended for another 18 months. A ruling that seemed an excuse to exclude her from elections scheduled in 2010 and which triggered international outrage.

Larry Ginger, charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Yangon, told the semi-official Myanmar Times newspaper that Washington intends to make progress "on important issues," but sanctions will be maintained "until such advances are not made."  

The leaders of the Burmese opposition party, by contrast, do not expect sudden changes from this visit. "It's the beginning of a direct engagement between the United States and the Burmese government - said Nyan Win, NLD spokesperson – but we do not expect major changes from this meeting. This visit is only the first step. "