ကေနဒါအစိုးရကဖိတ္ေခၚမွဳေတြကို အလုပ့္ေတြမအားတာေၾကာင့္ လက္မခံႏိုင္ေသးတဲ့ ျမန္မာ့ဒီမိုကေရစီေခါင္းေဆာင္
By James Fitz-Morris, CBC News
Posted: Apr 11, 2013 5:16 AM ET
Canadian diplomats seemed caught off-guard late last summer when Nobel
Peace Prize laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi turned down an invitation to
visit Canada.
Newly released documents under access to information show diplomats
scrambling in late August 2012 after the office of the opposition leader
in Burma, also known as Myanmar, stopped responding to telephone calls
and emails from Canadian officials before apologizing, saying Suu Kyi's
schedule was "too tight" and they were "unable to plan for this
September trip to Canada."
Canadian officials were hoping Suu Kyi — whose campaign for democracy
under the previous dictatorship led to years of house arrest that
prevented her leaving the country — would add a side-trip to her two-week visit to the United States <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/
"We're prepared to facilitate a very brief trip or any other schedule
changes that might make things easier," reads one email to Suu Kyi's
chief of staff from a senior diplomat. "The flight from DC to Ottawa is
only 90 minutes and it's even possible to do a day trip only. We're very
keen to see what we might be able to work out."
In the end, she stayed 17 days in the United States and, despite the
offer of an "executive jet" at her disposal by the Canadian government,
did not make the trek north.
Talking points provided to Canadian diplomats contacting Su Kyi's office
state: "As a Special Guest of the Government of Canada and an Honourary
Citizen, a government aircraft would meet Daw Aung Suu Kyi in the
American city of her choice and return her to her next American
destination."
However, it would seem the opposition leader's mind was made up.
'Positive exchanges'
The chargé d'affaires to Canada's
soon-to-be-opened embassy in Burma, Ping Kitnikone, told a deputy
director at the Foreign Affairs Department that "despite our previous
positive exchanges with her and our persistent persuasion, [Suu Kyi's
Chief of Staff] declined to have ASSK take the Minister's call.
CoS explained that ASSK is very busy visiting neighbouring
constituencies over the week-end and sitting in parliament during the
week so she is only taking calls on emergency matters now."
He went on to recommend that the issue be raised in person when
International Trade Minister Ed Fast had a scheduled meeting with Suu
Kyi. After that meeting, Kitnikone reported via email to his superiors
in Ottawa.
Most of the email is blocked out, except to say: "As honourary citizen,
she wanted to be sure to properly convey her appreciation of Canada's
friendship, etc."
Last March, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird made a landmark visit to Burma <http://www.cbc.ca/news/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/
Burma's Suu Kyi receives U.S. medal, to meet Obama
Democracy leader presented with Congress' highest award
CBC News
Posted: Sep 19, 2012 10:55 AM ET
Last Updated: Sep 19, 2012 8:58 PM ET
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, third
from left, is presented with the Congressional Gold Medal at the U.S.
Capitol in Washington on Wednesday. Present at the ceremony are former
first lady Laura Bush (from left), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senate Minority leader Mitch
McConnell. (Jason Reed/Reuters)
The Nobel laureate is on a 17-day trip to the U.S. She spent 15 years under house arrest for opposing military rule in her country, also known as Myanmar.
The ceremonial highlight of Suu Kyi's visit was Wednesday's presentation in the Capitol Rotunda of the Congressional Gold Medal that she was awarded in absentia in 2008 when she was still under house arrest.
"The great honour that you have conferred on me is a lasting memento of the steadfast support in the U.S. Congress for the democratic aspiration of my people," said Suu Kyi, accepting the medal. "From the depths of my heart, I thank you ... for keeping us in your hearts and minds during the dark years when freedom and justice seemed far beyond our reach."
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was "deeply moved" by Suu Kyi, and commended her on not simply remaining an icon of democracy, but also becoming a politician as well.
"It's almost too delicious to believe, my friend, that you are here in the rotunda of our great capital, the centrepiece of our democracy, as an elected member of your parliament," Clinton said.
Politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties spoke at the ceremony honouring Suu Kyi, including former first lady Laura Bush, and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
"It's impossible not to be moved by her quiet resolve ... she reminds us that the freedoms we enjoy are not just our birthright as Americans," said McConnell. "They are the inspiration for all men and women, and defending them will always require the courage she has shown in her long and difficult struggle for the people of Burma."
Burmese leader to meet privately with U.S. president
Suu Kyi's cause is one that Democrats and Republicans in an increasingly divided Washington have united in championing over the years, and several lawmakers who have advocated sanctions have visited Burma over the past year to consult with her on the shift in U.S. policy.Despite bitter political divisions, both parties in Congress have broadly supported the administration's steps to reward Burma for its shift from military rule. Congress in August renewed the import ban, but Obama could seek to waive its provisions.
Obama did not attend the ceremony, but was expected to meet privately with Suu Kyi at the White House, a senior administration official said.
The official, who requested anonymity in order to discuss the meeting before it was announced publicly, said there would be no press coverage because Suu Kyi is not a head of state. That also likely reflects concerns that her Washington visit could overshadow the country's reformist President Thein Sein, who attends the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week.
Thein Sein is a member of Burma's former ruling junta who has led the political opening over the past two years that was heralded by Suu Kyi's release in late 2010. Suu Kyi has since been elected to parliament and co-operates with Thein Sein.
As a result, the U.S. normalized diplomatic relations with Burma and in July allowed U.S. companies to start investing there again. The administration is now considering easing the main plank of its remaining sanctions, a ban on imports.
Suu Kyi voiced support for that step after she met Clinton on Tuesday, saying Burma should not depend on the U.S. to keep up its momentum for democracy. Some of her supporters, however, oppose it, saying reforms have not taken root and Washington will lose leverage with Burma which still faces serious human rights issues. Clinton also expressed concern Tuesday that Burma retains some military contacts with North Korea.
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