Obama to break 50-year taboo on Myanmar

Newly re-elected US President Barack Obama will visit Yangon later this month, a Myanmar government official said Wednesday, in the latest sign of Washington’s support for reforms in the former pariah state. “Obama will come to Yangon on Nov.19. He will meet the President and Daw (honouric) Aung San Suu Kyi here,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding further details were unavailable because of security concerns. This will be the first visit by a US president in 50 years. Relations between the US and Myanmar have thawed significantly since President Thein Sein took the helm of a quasi-civilian regime last year and ushered in a period of sweeping reform. Fresh from his re-election triumph, Obama has a small window for foreign travel before Thanksgiving on Nov.22 and deliberations in Congress about averting a destructive budgetary arrangement known as the “fiscal cliff.” The White House has not confirmed any trip to Myanmar. Obama is also expected to travel to Phnom Penh to attend the East Asia summit, an annual gathering of leaders of Southeast Asian nations and regional partners including China and Russia. “According to the plan, he will be arriving on the 18th,” Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP, adding that he did not know how long Obama would stay in the country. The summit ends on Nov.20. The Obama administration has encouraged the political developments in Myanmar under the new regime that replaced half a century of military rule. Thein Sein made a landmark trip to New York in September, becoming the first Myanmar leader to speak to the UN General Assembly, following a series of visits to Myanmar by US officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Suu Kyi also visited the US on a historic tour that coincided with the Myanmar leader’s schedule and included a meeting with Obama. “We welcome his visit. We are also glad that he won the election. He met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Washington during her visit and was very knowledgeable about Myanmar,” Ohn Kyaing, a spokesman for the opposition leader’s National League for Democracy, told AFP.