US to ease investment restrictions on Myanmar

Bangkokpost, April 6th, 2012 -  WASHINGTON: The United States said Wednesday it will ease restrictions on investment to Myanmar and quickly appoint an ambassador as it seeks to boost reformers who allowed landmark elections in the long-closed nation.

In its latest gestures under a three-year diplomatic drive on Myanmar, the United States said it would step up aid and allow select officials to visit but stopped short of easing the bulk of two decades worth of biting sanctions.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed the "leadership and courage" of President Thein Sein after the opposition swept Sunday's by-elections, giving Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi her first seat in parliament.

"The United States will stand with the reformers and the democrats both inside the government and in the larger civil society as they work together for that more hopeful future that is the right of every single person," Clinton told reporters.

Clinton announced "the beginning of the process" of a "targeted easing of our ban on the export of US financial services and investment" to the country formerly known as Burma.

She said the step on investment was "part of a broader effort to help accelerate economic modernization and political reform."

But she warned: "Sanctions and prohibitions will stay in place on individuals and institutions that remain on the wrong side of these historic reform efforts."

Clinton, who previously announced that the United States would restore full diplomatic relations with Myanmar for the first time in two decades, said the administration would complete formalities "in the coming days" and then formally nominate an ambassador to the Senate for confirmation.

The US Agency for International Development will set up a mission inside the country and the United States will support a similar normalization of work by the UN Development Program, Clinton said.

Clinton -- who paid a landmark visit to Myanmar in December -- said that the United States would allow private organizations to pursue a greater range of work inside Myanmar, including democracy promotion, health and education.

Washington will also let select officials and lawmakers from Myanmar to visit the United States, relaxing restrictions, Clinton said.

But the United States retains some tough sanctions on Myanmar including a ban on its exports such as jade, a key money-maker.

Clinton said the United States was still pressing for greater progress on key concerns including a release of all political prisoners and the end to any conditions on those recently released from jails in a major amnesty.

She also called for reconciliation with minority groups and the "verifiable termination" of any military cooperation between Myanmar and North Korea, an international pariah which plans to test a long-range missile this month.

The European Union has also been seeking to reward Myanmar and is leaning toward a "substantial" removal of sanctions, a senior EU diplomat told AFP on Tuesday in Brussels.

President Barack Obama's administration opened talks with Myanmar after taking office in 2009, concluding that years of Western efforts to isolate the then military leadership had failed.

Three years later, Myanmar is arguably a top showcase for Obama's foreign policy as he seeks reelection, with the rival Republican Party sharply criticizing his earlier outreach to other US foes such as Iran and Syria.

Thein Sein, a nominal civilian, took office last year to widespread skepticism from the United States and opposition. But he has surprised even many of his critics through his reforms including opening talks with Suu Kyi, who had spent most of the past two decades under house arrest.

Some US-based analysts attribute Myanmar's shift to a hesitation by the leadership at depending too much on China, which has an outsized economic and political influence in its strategically placed neighbor.

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