Apr 15, 2011
President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated defence official Derek Mitchell (left) as his special representative on Myanmar to shape US policy towards the country after its criticised political transition. -- PHOTO: AP
WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT Barack Obama on Thursday nominated defence official Derek Mitchell as his special representative on Myanmar to shape US policy towards the country after its criticised political transition.
Mitchell, a veteran Asia hand, will assume responsibility for the US approach to a nation with which Washington has a tense relationship due to the government's suppression of Aung San Suu Kyi's democracy movement.
Mr Obama officially announced the move in a White House statement. Mr Mitchell's appointment will need to be confirmed by the Senate, in a hearing likely to give voice to Myanmar's fierce opponents on Capitol Hill. After Mr Obama took office in January 2009, his administration concluded that Western efforts to isolate the military-led nation had been ineffective and initiated a dialogue with the junta.
But the United States has since voiced disappointment over developments in Myanmar, including an election in November widely denounced as a sham, but has said that it sees no alternative to engagement at such a fluid time.
Congress approved a wide-ranging law on Myanmar in 2008 that tightened sanctions and created the special envoy position. Then-president George W. Bush named Michael Green, formerly one of his top aides, but the nomination died in the Senate due to an unrelated political dispute.
Myanmar's ruling junta officially disbanded this month, giving the country a nominally civilian government for the first time in nearly a century. But many analysts dismissed the move as top junta figures remain firmly in leadership positions, albeit without their uniforms. -- AFP
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