Obama tells Myanmar to free Suu Kyi

U.S. President Barack Obama used a meeting on Sunday with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to urge pariah state Myanmar pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi for free.
In what was the first meeting in 43 years between a U.S. president and leaders of the military junta in Myanmar, Obama reportedly told Prime Minister General Thein Bollywood to release Suu Kyi.
The U.S. is reluctant to have a separate summit with ASEAN since 1997, when Myanmar - also known as Burma - joined the grouping despite stiff objections from the U.S. and the EU.
Military-ruled Myanmar earned pariah status among Western democracies for its poor human rights record, not freed Suu Kyi - the 64-year-old opposition leader who has been under house arrest for more than six years, and its glacial pace of political reform.
In a joint statement issued by the U.S. and ASEAN, the two sides welcomed Obama's new policy of engagement with Myanmar, as demonstrated by a high-level visit by the assistant secretary of state kuty Campbell to Myanmar earlier this month .
"We hope that this effort, as well as ASEAN's, would contribute to global political and economic reforms and the process will be more pronounced increase in the future," the statement added.
It was then on Myanmar's junta to implement a planned general election next year in a "free, fair, inclusive and transparent manner".
"I have the policy that I proposed yesterday in Tokyo, with respect to Burma, confirmed," Obama said in a statement following the summit.
In Tokyo, Obama said Myanmar needs to take "clear steps" toward democracy, including the unconditional release of all political prisoners, an end to conflicts with minority groups and a "genuine dialogue" with the opposition and minorities on a "shared vision for the future."
He noticed that the U.S. began to communicate directly with the Burmese leadership even after sanctions or engagement by others had succeeded. The message Washington was sending via the newly opened lines, was that "existing sanctions will remain until there are concrete steps towards democratic reform."
Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party, has spent 14 of the last 20 years under house arrest.
Obama, since coming to office, had a policy of "re-engagement" with the ASEAN and the rest of East Asia, which is probably a low priority for his predecessor George W. Bush.
Obama has a point of including all members of ASEAN at the Singapore summit, although Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are not members of APEC, a 21-nation grouping of leading Asian and American economies.
"It was an honor to participate in this historic event. I look forward to a second leaders' meeting next year," Obama said after the 90-minute summit on the sidelines of the APEC Summit will be hosted by Singapore this year.
Obama's decision to have a separate bilateral summit with the ASEAN is considered a diplomatic breakthrough for the regional grouping, which is still on the world arena sidelined by the growing political and economic influence of China and India.
"This is a seismic shift in U.S. policy represents," said ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan.