'Broaden Myanmar outreach'

WASHINGTON - THE United States should broaden engagement with Myanmar to reach more of the population, taking a long-term view despite growing concern over upcoming elections, a study said on Wednesday.

'What we wanted to do was lay out a positive direction where the leadership in Burma could take a step forward and see the benefits that could occur if they would do that,' Clark (above) said, using Myanmar's former name. -- PHOTO: AFP

The New York-based Asia Society set up a task force with leading figures of both major US parties to chart a way forward after President Barack Obama's administration last year launched a dialogue with the military regime.

The study broadly endorsed Mr Obama's approach but had no illusions about the difficulties ahead, warning that the junta may try to use talks with the United States to confer legitimacy on elections it is holding later this year.

The task force said the United States could tighten or remove sanctions on the regime based on progress but should ramp up assistance to ordinary people including non-governmental organisations, farmers and small businesses.

'This is what we can do - we can work with the population,' retired general Wesley Clark, a former Democratic presidential candidate and co-chair of the task force, told a news conference introducing the report.

'What we wanted to do was lay out a positive direction where the leadership in Burma could take a step forward and see the benefits that could occur if they would do that,' Clark said, using Myanmar's former name. The other co-chair was Henrietta Fore, who was director of foreign aid under Republican president George W. Bush. Task force members included billionaire philanthropist George Soros and Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen. -- AFP

Source :http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_509157.html