• Burmese
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
22 °c
Ashburn
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Obama Confronts Shortcomings in Burma Reforms

Julie Pace by Julie Pace
November 12, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Obama Confronts Shortcomings in Burma Reforms

US President Barack Obama meets with Burma’s President Thein Sein in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on May 20

4.7k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

BEIJING — As President Barack Obama arrives in Burma’s remote capital, he is confronting a nation backsliding in its pledges to enact economic and political reforms that were rewarded with US sanctions relief and made the long-isolated country a darling of Obama’s efforts to stake out a legacy in Asia.

The optimism over Burma’s unexpected shift from military rule has subsided as reforms slow. The country’s pro-democracy hero Aung San Suu Kyi remains ineligible for next year’s presidential elections because of constitutional rules designed to block her. And Burma’s minority Rohingya Muslims face escalated attacks and persecution in the largely Buddhist nation.

“There’s no certainty about the future,” said Derek Mitchell, the US ambassador to Burma. “There’s nothing inevitable about this all succeeding.”

RelatedPosts

JFM: 12 ASEAN Billionaires Fueling Myanmar Junta Terror Campaign

JFM: 12 ASEAN Billionaires Fueling Myanmar Junta Terror Campaign

May 13, 2025
1.7k
What Should Anwar and ASEAN Do About Myanmar?

What Should Anwar and ASEAN Do About Myanmar?

May 8, 2025
950
Junta Boss Rebukes Critics as Military Disquiet Grows; Crony Jerry-Builders Told to Repair Naypyitaw; and More

Junta Boss Rebukes Critics as Military Disquiet Grows; Crony Jerry-Builders Told to Repair Naypyitaw; and More

May 3, 2025
1.3k

Obama was due to arrive Wednesday night in the capital of Naypidaw, his second stop on an eight-day Asia-Pacific swing that opened in China and ends later this week in Australia. The president was first attending a pair of regional summits, then holding talks in the capital with Burma’s President Thein Sein before traveling on to Rangoon to meet with Suu Kyi.

White House officials say Obama has always been realistic about the challenges ahead in Burma, a country that in many cases lacks the infrastructure and capacity to enact the reforms its leaders have promised. However, human rights advocates and other critics of the administration’s policy toward Burma say the United States gave up its leverage by too quickly rewarding the government for reforms it has not yet fulfilled.

Michael Green, an Asia analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the White House put reforms in Burma “on the scoreboard and they dropped it and now they’re scrambling.”

For Obama, the pursuit of democracy in Burma has become a centerpiece of his efforts to deepen US engagement in Asia. In 2012, he became the first sitting US president to visit the country, a daylong stop that included an emotional meeting with Suu Kyi at the residence where she spent more than a decade under house arrest. The president’s advisers still recall the thick crowds that lined the streets to watch Obama’s motorcade speed through the streets, defying rules that had limited large public gatherings.

It’s unlikely Obama would be returning to Burma ahead of next year’s election if the country weren’t hosting the two regional summits. Still, White House aides say the timing of the trip gives Obama an opportunity to make an in-person appeal for progress.

“The United States can best move that forward by engagement,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser. “If we disengage, frankly, I think that there’s a vacuum that could potentially be filled by bad actors.”

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Asean
Julie Pace

Julie Pace

The Associated Press

Similar Picks:

Singapore Called On to Stop Feeding Myanmar Junta’s War Machine
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Singapore Called On to Stop Feeding Myanmar Junta’s War Machine

by The Irrawaddy
August 24, 2023
10.2k

Over 200 civil society organizations demand that city-state block regime’s access to arms, dual-use goods, technology and funds.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Causes Thailand Problems
Guest Column

Myanmar Junta Causes Thailand Problems

by Paul Greening
March 7, 2024
6.8k

The multiple crises on Thailand’s border sparked by the Myanmar junta’s failed coup could present opportunities for Bangkok, but so...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar and the Death of ASEAN
Guest Column

Myanmar and the Death of ASEAN

by Bertil Lintner
August 29, 2023
6.3k

With the bloc’s future looking shaky due to its inability to handle the Myanmar crisis, China is securing its place...

Read moreDetails
Thailand Sentences 7 to Jail for Protesting Myanmar Coup
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Thailand Sentences 7 to Jail for Protesting Myanmar Coup

by The Irrawaddy
August 24, 2023
4.4k

Neighboring country maintains strong relations with junta despite widespread atrocities and killing of over 4,000 opponents.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Spring Revolution Must Open Two New Fronts to Oust Junta
Guest Column

Myanmar’s Spring Revolution Must Open Two New Fronts to Oust Junta

by Igor Blazevic
December 14, 2023
4.4k

Launch of political and diplomatic offensives is urgent if the National Unity Government and ethnic armed allies are to retain...

Read moreDetails
ASEAN Urged to Stop Calling For ‘Inclusive Talks’ Between Myanmar Junta and Its Victims
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

ASEAN Urged to Stop Calling For ‘Inclusive Talks’ Between Myanmar Junta and Its Victims

by The Irrawaddy
December 2, 2023
4.4k

More than 600 civil society groups issue joint statement calling on the regional bloc to respect the will of Myanmar...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
UN Secretary-General Calls for Greater Rohingya Rights Protections

UN Secretary-General Calls for Greater Rohingya Rights Protections

Aid Groups in Burma Trip Over Links to Elite 

Aid Groups in Burma Trip Over Links to Elite 

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Myanmar Junta Leader Scores Diplomatic Win With Xi Meeting in Moscow

Myanmar Junta Leader Scores Diplomatic Win With Xi Meeting in Moscow

5 days ago
1.2k
How Myanmar Junta Uses Air Force to Fight Its Corner

How Myanmar Junta Uses Air Force to Fight Its Corner

7 days ago
1.3k

Most Read

  • China’s Two-Faced Diplomacy in Myanmar

    China’s Two-Faced Diplomacy in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Workers at Adidas Factory in Myanmar Strike for Living Wage

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Political Parties Fear Mass Boycott of Junta’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Shan Party Says It’s Ready to Take Part in Junta’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Technical Problems Ground Myanmar’s JF-17 Fighter Jets Bought From China

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.