Combination Document

New York, 11 June 2009 - Secretary-General's monthly press conference

Q: Mr. Secretary-General, are you still planning to travel to Myanmar? And, if so, when and what do you hope to achieve there?
SG: As you know, promoting democratization, including the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, has been one of my top priorities and it will continue to be my top priority. And I have been constantly engaging in dialogue with Myanmar authorities, and through my Special Advisor, Mr. [Ibrahim] Gambari. When the time is appropriate and conditions are ripe, as I said many times, I'm ready to visit Myanmar. I'm working on that now. When the time comes, I will let you know.
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President Obama's Nominee to be Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Dr. Kurt M. Campbell, Nomination to be Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Washington, DC
June 10, 2009

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Mr. Chairman, the people of Burma deserve better than what they now have. As Secretary Clinton said in Jakarta, neither our sanctions-based approach nor ASEAN’s engagement approach have worked, so the Administration is reviewing policy options with the goal of finding more effective ways to encourage dialogue among the military, the opposition, and the ethnic nationalities, release of political prisoners, and broad-based reform. The recent actions by the Burmese Junta against Aung San Suu Kyi are deeply troubling and we are factoring these developments into our ongoing policy review. While I cannot prejudge the outcome of the policy review, I can say that my approach – if confirmed – will be to engage widely with Congress, with our partners in the region, and with people who know Burma in order to come up with practical, realistic ideas on how we can best encourage Burma to move in a more positive direction. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx