Washington presses Myanmar to open rule

YANGON, Myanmar, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Washington is willing to thaw relations with Myanmar if its ruling military junta takes tangible steps toward democracy, a U.S. official said Thursday.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scot Marciel said he and Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell stressed the need for a more open government Tuesday and Wednesday when they talked with senior government officials, including the Southeast Asian country's prime minister, Gen. Thein Sein, and opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, during a rare trip to Mayanmar, formerly known as Burma.

The U.S. officials did not speak with Senior Gen. Than Shwe, the country's ruler, CNN reported.

"We reaffirmed our commitment to a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Burma," Marciel said. "We stressed the importance of genuine dialogue between the government and ethnic minorities. Fundamentally, the main problem is a lack of an inclusive political process."

But he said he did not know if the junta would take meaningful steps such as freeing Suu Kyi ahead of next year's elections, Myanmar's first since 1990.

Washington would demand such measures before it would consider removing its longstanding sanctions against the country, he said.

"We're willing to move in terms of our bilateral relationship, but we're only going to do it if there's real progress," he said.

The trip was part of a new U.S. policy intended to restore U.S. influence there, reversing the Bush administration's shunning of Myanmar.

The country's military regime, which seized power in 1962, is widely criticized for human rights violations.

More discussions are expected, including a possible meeting between President Barack Obama and senior Myanmar officials during an economic summit in Singapore this month, The Wall Street Journal reported.