United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US President Barack Obama congratulated Myanmar’s democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi on her party’s victory as China avoided avoided congratulating h
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US President Barack Obama congratulated Myanmar’s democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi on her party’s victory as China avoided avoided congratulating her.
In a call with Ms Suu Kyi, Mr Obama “commended her for her tireless efforts and sacrifice over so many years to promote a more inclusive, peaceful and democratic Burma”, the White House said.
Mr Obama and Mr Ban also praised President Thein Sein for successfully staging the historic poll, with the UN chief acknowledging his “courage and vision” to organise an election in which the ruling camp was trounced.
Mr Obama has visited Myanmar twice over the past three years, hoping to make its transition to democracy a foreign policy legacy of his presidency. He will meet with Thein Sein, among other regional leaders, during a trip to Asia this month.
Thein Sein, whose semi-civilian government took power when the junta stepped aside in 2011, and powerful Army chief Min Aung Hlaing, have said they would respect the result and hold reconciliation talks with Ms Suu Kyi soon.
Such unambiguous endorsements of Ms Suu Kyi’s victory could smooth the lengthy post-election transition ahead of the last session of the old parliament, which reconvenes on Monday.
“We need to prepare to hand over duties systematically and cleanly to the government that will emerge in accord with the desire of the people,” information minister Ye Htut said in a Facebook post on Friday, a day after a Cabinet meeting.
The NLD will make national reconciliation its priority, as well as putting an end to decades of conflict between the army and rebel ethnic groups in the country, said Win Htein, a senior NLD leader.
Meanwhile, China on Thursday avoided congratulating Myanmar Ms Suu Kyi which has the potential to strain ties with Beijing.
Beijing has for decades been close to neighbouring Myanmar’s authoritarian military leaders, who voters overwhelmingly rejected in historic polls. Ms Suu Kyi’s party secured a landslide election victory Friday, propelling the country’s pro-democracy movement to power after a 25-year struggle.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman was circumspect.“China will continue to extend its assistance and continue with its friendship and all-around mutually beneficial cooperation” with Myanmar, Hong Lei said following the victory.
Asked if Beijing had extended congratulations to Ms Suu Kyi, Hong did not answer directly.“We sincerely wish that Myanmar can have political stability and that it can achieve national development,” he added at a regular briefing.
China was a key backer of the country’s brutal military junta — which kept Ms Suu Kyi under house arrest for more than 15 years — while it was under Western sanctions. Myanmar is already seen as drifting away from its former dependence on Beijing and towards the US since launching moves towards civilian rule in 2011 which saw sanctions lifted.
