Ethiopian Review

Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia finished a two-day visit to Myanmar by obtaining the release of American John Yettaw and meeting with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Webb met with Myanmar’s reclusive Senior Gen. Than Shwe in Myanmar’s jungle capital of Naypyitaw and came away from that meeting with Yettaw’s release. It was the first time the reclusive general had met with a senior U.S. official, according to The Associated Press.

The senator is expected to take Myanmar to Bangkok on Sunday.

Yettaw, 53, was the American sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for swimming to the home of detained opposition leader Suu Kyi and staying there for two nights in May.

Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years at her lakefront home, was given an additional 18 months of house arrest.

Webb was also able to meet with Suu Kyi for more than an hour. A statement released by his office says that meeting was an opportunity for Webb to convey his deep respect for the sacrifices Suu Kyi has made on behalf of democracy.

The statement also says Webb asked Myanmar’s generals to release Suu Kyi. It was not clear if the senator was carrying a message for Myanmar’s leaders from the Obama administration.

“It is my hope that we can take advantage of these gestures as a way to begin laying the foundations of goodwill and confidence building in the future,” Webb was quoted as saying.

Than Shwe meets infrequently with foreign dignitiaries — in part because he doesn’t like what many have to say about the generals’ treatment of dissidents. He was unavailable when U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Myanmar last month.

Webb’s visit came just four days after Suu Kyi was convicted of violating the terms of her detention — and some dissident groups had expressed unhappiness at the timing of the senator’s trip.

Webb is on a five-nation tour of Southeast Asian nations, which his office has described as an effort to “explore opportunities to advance U.S. interests in Myanmar and the region.”

Yettaw, 53, is to be officially deported Sunday, when he will fly with Webb on a military plane to Bangkok, according to a statement from Webb’s office. Before his conviction on Tuesday, Yettaw had spent a week in a prison hospital for epileptic seizures. He is also said to suffer from asthma and diabetes.

Webb’s visit to Myanmar was the first by a member of the U.S. Congress in more than a decade.

The junta may have approved the meeting with Suu Kyi to mitigate the torrent of international criticism against Myanmar following the recent trial and verdict.

Webb, who arrived in Myanmar’s capital of Naypyitaw on Friday, was scheduled to address reporters in Yangon on Sunday.

The visit — particularly the meetings with senior officials and Suu Kyi — was unusual because of the poor state of relations between Myanmar, also known as Burma, and the U.S. Many critics said it was bad timing for outreach — only days after the junta flouted international appeals that Suu Kyi be cleared of the latest charges. It also drew criticism from activists who say it confers legitimacy on a brutal regime.

While Washington has traditionally been Myanmar’s strongest critic, applying political and economic sanctions against the junta, President Barack Obama’s new ambassador for East Asia, Kurt Campbell, recently said the administration is interested in easing its policy of isolation. Webb has said that “affirmative engagement” could bring the most change to Myanmar, concerning those who think a hard line is the best approach.

Britain’s ambassador to the United Nations suggested Webb’s visit could help persuade the junta to free Suu Kyi.

“If the Americans can get the generals to see that their country’s interest is reflected in taking interest in reconciliation, releasing Aung San Suu Kyi and holding free and fair elections, that would be very helpful.” John Sawyers told BBC Radio 4 on Saturday.

But in a letter to Webb, dissident groups warned the junta would use the senator’s trip for its own ends.

“We are concerned that the military regime will manipulate and exploit your visit and propagandize that you endorse their treatment on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and over 2,100 political prisoners, their human rights abuses on the people of Burma, and their systematic, widespread and ongoing attack against the ethnic minorities,” the letter said. Daw is a term of respect for older women in Myanmar.

Possibly reflecting a similar wariness, a spokesman for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy said the party “has no interest in Jim Webb because he is not known to have any interest in Myanmar affairs.” He did not elaborate.

Official media, however, appeared to herald Webb’s arrival. The nightly broadcast led with the visit, reporting that the senator met with Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein on Friday, and returned to the subject several times during the night.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The junta called elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results when Suu Kyi’s party won overwhelmingly.

By Michael Sullivan | npr