US set to appoint envoy to revive Myanmar/Burma policy

AP
WASHINGTON -President Barack Obama plans to name a special envoy to Myanmar who
is expected to seek more help from the repressive government's neighbors in pres
sing for democratic reform. Building agreement on the best way to proceed will b
e tricky.
Southeast Asian nations have called for lifting sanctions, which the U.S. still
opposes, while regional powers India and China have their own strategic relation
ships with Myanmar and have shown little appetite for meddling in its internal a
ffairs.
To be confirmed by the Senate, Derek Mitchell, deputy assistant secretary of def
ense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, probably will have to voice support
for sanctions and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. That could make it toughe
r for the envoy to negotiate with Myanmar's dominant military once he is in the
job, said David Steinberg, a Myanmar expert at Georgetown University.
Mitchell, a China scholar with long experience in Asia, would not comment on his
nomination, which is expected within a week and would require him to give up hi
s job at the Pentagon.
An article he co-authored in Foreign Policy magazine in 2007, when he was direct
or for Asia strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think
tank, offers clues on how he'd like to operate as envoy.
The article suggested bringing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China
, India, Japan and the United States together in developing a road map that woul
d lay out benefits if Myanmar pursued true political reform and national reconci
liation, and the costs it would suffer if it continued to be intransigent.
In the years since the article was written, Myanmar has launched another bloody
crackdown on democracy protesters, continued brutal military campaigns against e
thnic minorities and seen thousands flee across its borders. U.S. officials also
suspect Myanmar has nuclear ambitions and imported some Scud missiles from Nort
h Korea, which Myanmar's neighbors would be worried about, too.
The Obama administration has retained sanctions but opened the door to dialogue.
But in its foreign policy, Myanmar has been eclipsed by the wars in Iraq and Af
ghanistan, Iran's nuclear program and turmoil in the Middle East, among other is
sues.
Lawmakers and human-rights advocates have long pressed for an envoy for Myanmar
to give it greater attention. After abandoning America's two-decade-long policy
of isolating Myanmar, the administration has periodically sent senior officials
to meet with Suu Kyi and the government, without making headway. Washington says
it remains open to dialogue.
Agreeing to talk has at least removed an obstacle to U.S. engagement with the As
sociation of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, which has become a focus for dee
pening American trade and security ties in the region, countering the rising pow
er of China. In a shift, ASEAN also has voiced some criticism of recalcitrant me
mber Myanmar and urged reform.
T. Kumar of Amnesty International USA said that regional diplomacy was the best
way forward, although Myanmar has so far proved deft in balancing its ties with
China and India and resisting international pressure.
Steinberg said Myanmar's chief ally China in particular would view U.S. involvem
ent with suspicion and probably would only weigh in and ask for modest reform if
 Myanmar faced a mass uprising or border fighting that threatened stability.
"Working with ASEAN is the only route right now," he said.
There is a glimmer of an opening. After five decades of military rule, Myanmar r
ecently has seen some political changes, albeit superficial ones. Having rejecte
d an election victory by Suu Kyi's party in 1990, the military organized polls l
ast year that were viewed by most of the international community as unfair. They
ushered in what they called a civilian government, but it still is dominated by
the military.
It has freed Suu Kyi from years of house arrest, although it outlawed her party.
Some European nations have now joined ASEAN in calling for lifting sanctions, ev
en as rights groups, exiled Myanmar activists and some U.S. lawmakers seek to to
ughen them.