Burma’s president calls for “patience” with democratic transition

Burma’s President Thein Sein paid tribute to the country’s most famous democratic dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi, saying he wanted to congratulate her for the awards she has received during a 17-day tour the United States, including the Congressional Gold Medal. "As a Myanmar citizen, I would like to congratulate her for the honors she ...

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Burma's President Thein Sein paid tribute to the country's most famous democratic dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi, saying he wanted to congratulate her for the awards she has received during a 17-day tour the United States, including the Congressional Gold Medal.

Burma’s President Thein Sein paid tribute to the country’s most famous democratic dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi, saying he wanted to congratulate her for the awards she has received during a 17-day tour the United States, including the Congressional Gold Medal.

"As a Myanmar citizen, I would like to congratulate her for the honors she has received in this country in recognition of her efforts for democracy," he told the U.N. General Assembly gathering this morning.

The tribute underscored the dramatic shift under way in Burma and in the country’s leader — a former general from the military junta that had once annulled an election that would have made Suu Kyi the country’s leader, and then held her under house arrest for nearly two decades.

Dressed in a business suit, Sein said that his government is making "progress on the democratic path" and that it would require forbearance from the international community. The remarks come one day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton informed Myanmar that the United States was easing a series of sanctions on the country’s exports to the United States.

"I am well aware of the fact that Myanmar’s democratic transformation process would be a complex and delicate one that requires patience," he said. "Myanmar is now ushering in a new era…. It is…necessary that Myanmar should be viewed from a different and new perspective."

He also addressed international concerns about a wave of violence against the country’s minority groups, referring to an upswing in ethnic violence in Rakhine. "In this connection, I would like to mention in the first place that the people inhabiting in our country, regardless of race, religion, and gender, have the right to live in peace and security."

Follow me on Twitter @columlynch  

Colum Lynch was a staff writer at Foreign Policy between 2010 and 2022. Twitter: @columlynch

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