Clinton, greets Suu Kyi with two kisses

The speaker of the Burmese Lower House Thura Shwe Mann said on Thursday that he made a pledge to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that all political prisoners across Burma will be released.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, right, and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi have dinner at the U.S. Chief of Mission Residence in Rangoon on Thursday. Photo: AFP

“She urged Burma to release political prisoners. In response, I said I pledged that we will do as much as we can in order that all citizens including political prisoners can be involved in building the nation and for the sake of national reconciliation,” Thura Shwe Mann said in the press conference in Naypyitaw after meeting with Clinton.
Hillary Rodham Clinton met for a second time with former political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, this time for a more formal meeting at the lakeside residence where the Nobel laureate was kept under house arrest for much of the last two decades.  

Suu Kyi and her staff welcomed Clinton, who greeted Suu Kyi with two kisses on the cheek, saying: "It is just a great honor for me not only to be here but to see all of you."

Clinton's meetings with Suu Kyi were the highlight of the US secretary of state's visit to the long-isolated country also known as Burma and forcefully underscored a US challenge to its leaders: The new civilian government must expand recent reforms, including the release of political prisoners, to improve relations as it emerges from more than a half-century of repressive military rule."We believe that any political prisoner anywhere should be released," Clinton told reporters Thursday."One political prisoner is one too many in our view."

US officials warned that even the modest incentives Clinton offered to Myanmar's new, military-backed leaders this week would come off the table if the country fails the political-prisoners and other tests of reform.In meetings with top Myanmar officials in the capital of Naypyidaw and then with Suu Kyi in the commercial hub of Yangon, Clinton said the country's leaders must end violent campaigns against ethnic minorities and break military ties with North Korea. Clinton met with Burmese President Thein Sein in Naypyitaw followed by a private lunch. . 

Clinton said in a press conference that the US is not ready to lift sanctions against Burma until it sees further concrete progress in reforms, including the release of political prisoners, a resolution to the bloody fighting in ethnic areas, a more open democratic system that guarantees political parties the right to open offices and travel to all areas of the country, and an end to Burma’s “illicit” dealings with North Korea involving missiles and nuclear technology.

She said that she welcomed the Burmese side’s pledge to release political prisoners soon and to abide by U.N. resolutions on missile and nuclear technology.Thura Shwe Mann said Clinton urged the newly elected government to continue to make changes that improved the lives of the people and offered greater freedom. He said any improvement in relations with the U.S. would not alter Burma’s relationship with neighbouring countries including China and India.Media agencies