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Tom McCarthy, in New York, guardian.co.uk,
The Obama administration has signalled a warming of relations between the US and Burma with the easing of trade restrictions and the appointment of an ambassador.
Diplomatic ties will be strengthened and US companies will gain new access to markets, in what Barack Obama declared was a "new chapter" in relations between the two countries.
The president named Derek Mitchell, currently a special envoy, as the first US ambassador to Burma, also known as Myanmar, since 1990. His appointment, if confirmed by the Senate, would be a significant step up from the current low-level ties between Burma and the US.
"Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between the United States and Burma," Obama said in a statement.
US companies will be allowed to export financial services and make new investments in the country, the president announced, although restrictions on doing business with companies tied to Burma's military regime, long vilified for human rights abuses, remain in place.
It was unclear whether US businesses would be allowed to work with the country's national energy company, Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise. US-owned companies including Chevron have sought contracts on oil and natural gas reserves in the country and offshore, according to Human Rights Watch.
The change of policy comes after a series of moves indicating a thaw in US-Burmese relations. A disputed but unusually open election in 2010 was followed by the release of the country's best-known dissident, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, from house arrest. In December 2011, Hillary Clinton became the first US secretary of state to visit Burma in half a century.
Mitchell's appointment had been anticipated: he has overseen US engagement with Burma during the recent period of political reform.
The policy shift was welcomed by senior Republican senators John McCain and Mitch McConnell. "Today's announcements strike an appropriate balance between encouraging the process of reform now unfolding in Burma, while maintaining sufficient leverage to continue pressing the Burmese government for additional progress," they said in a joint statement.
Obama's announcement coincided with a visit by the Burmese foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin to the state department on Thursday afternoon, for a meeting with Clinton.
A former British colony, Burma witnessed decades of military rule and severe political oppression following a 1962 coup.
Human Rights Watch advised caution. "Tough rules are needed to ensure that new investments benefit the people of Burma and don't fuel human rights abuses and corruption, or end up strengthening the military's control over civilian authorities," the group said in a statement.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/17/obama-administration-burma-ambassador
Diplomatic ties will be strengthened and US companies will gain new access to markets, in what Barack Obama declared was a "new chapter" in relations between the two countries.
The president named Derek Mitchell, currently a special envoy, as the first US ambassador to Burma, also known as Myanmar, since 1990. His appointment, if confirmed by the Senate, would be a significant step up from the current low-level ties between Burma and the US.
"Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between the United States and Burma," Obama said in a statement.
US companies will be allowed to export financial services and make new investments in the country, the president announced, although restrictions on doing business with companies tied to Burma's military regime, long vilified for human rights abuses, remain in place.
It was unclear whether US businesses would be allowed to work with the country's national energy company, Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise. US-owned companies including Chevron have sought contracts on oil and natural gas reserves in the country and offshore, according to Human Rights Watch.
The change of policy comes after a series of moves indicating a thaw in US-Burmese relations. A disputed but unusually open election in 2010 was followed by the release of the country's best-known dissident, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, from house arrest. In December 2011, Hillary Clinton became the first US secretary of state to visit Burma in half a century.
Mitchell's appointment had been anticipated: he has overseen US engagement with Burma during the recent period of political reform.
The policy shift was welcomed by senior Republican senators John McCain and Mitch McConnell. "Today's announcements strike an appropriate balance between encouraging the process of reform now unfolding in Burma, while maintaining sufficient leverage to continue pressing the Burmese government for additional progress," they said in a joint statement.
Obama's announcement coincided with a visit by the Burmese foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin to the state department on Thursday afternoon, for a meeting with Clinton.
A former British colony, Burma witnessed decades of military rule and severe political oppression following a 1962 coup.
Human Rights Watch advised caution. "Tough rules are needed to ensure that new investments benefit the people of Burma and don't fuel human rights abuses and corruption, or end up strengthening the military's control over civilian authorities," the group said in a statement.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/17/obama-administration-burma-ambassador
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