Regional News
Investors, Others Say Time Has Come for More Conciliatory Approach; Envoy Says Sanctions to Remain for Now
A new U.S. envoy to Myanmar said U.S. sanctions against the military-dominated country will remain in place for now, but that the U.S. is ready to respond if it sees “credible” steps toward reform.
The remarks, at the end of a multiday trip by U.S. Special Representative Derek Mitchell, come at a time of rising hope that Myanmar’s government is pressing ahead with reforms that could result in greater political and economic freedom in the Southeast Asian nation. But they also reflect the increasingly difficult position for the U.S., which is facing increased pressure from investors and other opponents of sanctions who believe the time has come for a more conciliatory approach from the U.S. government — including a faster timetable for easing sanctions.
On Wednesday at a news conference in Yangon, Mr. Mitchell said, “It is clear from my visit that there are heightened expectations and hopes that change, real change, may be on the horizon” and he called on Myanmar’s leaders to “prove the skeptics wrong.”
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By: a WSJ Staff Reporter with a contribution by Celine Fernandez
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 15, 2011
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