WASHINGTON (AP) – Aung San Suu Kyi’s latest visit to Washington signals her transformation from long-imprisoned heroine of Myanmar’s democracy struggle to a national leader focused on economic growth.
President Barack Obama will meet with Suu Kyi at the White House on Wednesday to discuss rolling back more of the sanctions that were applied when the nation was under military rule. Suu Kyi will also be courting the American business community at a dinner where tables go for as much as $25,000.
Suu Kyi’s party swept historic elections last November, and the visit by the 71-year old Nobel peace laureate, deeply respected in Washington, is a crowning occasion in the administration’s support for Myanmar’s shift from pariah state to democracy, which it views as a major foreign policy achievement.
The U.S. has eased economic sanctions on the country also known as Burma since political reforms began five years ago but it still restricts dealings with military-owned companies and dozens of officials and associates of the former ruling junta. U.S. companies and banks remain leery of involvement in one of Asia’s last untapped markets.
Human rights groups, however, say there are powerful reasons for retaining sanctions. Military abuses continue in ethnic minority regions. Rohingya Muslims remain displaced by sectarian violence and denied citizenship.