Rice lashes out at Burma
Published: Sep 13, 2005 5:40 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice lashed out at her Burmese counterpart for political repression in the military-ruled state, during her meeting with Southeast Asian ministers.
The US Secretary of State lashes out at her Burmese counterpart for political repression in the military-ruled state during her meeting with Southeast Asian ministers in New York.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice lashed out at her Burmese counterpart for political repression in the military-ruled state, during her meeting with Southeast Asian ministers.
Rice pinned her eyes on Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win during the talks on the sidelines of a United Nations summit and told him that his military regime was "out of step with the rest of the world" in not making progress in political and human rights reforms.
"She did single out Burma and emphasized that it was important that Burma undertake political and human rights reforms," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters after the talks, using Myanmar's previous name.
"Those comments were directed toward him. She did look at him," McCormack said when asked whether Rice looked at Nyan Win as she made the sharp remarks.
It was not known how Nyan Win reacted at the meeting - the first between Rice and the 10 foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) since she took office as the top US diplomat in January.
Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Myanmar's military rulers are accused by rights groups and western nations of a barrage of abuses, including forced labor, torture, extrajudicial killings and massive forced displacements of civilians.
Sticking point
Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is under arrest for campaigning against the military junta. Her National League for Democracy party won a 1990 election but the military junta refused to hand over power.
The concerns over Myanmar have become a sticking point in US relations with Southeast Asia, and reportedly led to Rice skipping the annual Asean talks in July.
It was the first time in about two decades that a US secretary of state had stayed out of the talks.
The United States has traditionally been a key economic and security partner in Southeast Asia. It is also the biggest foreign investor in the region, America's third largest annual overseas export market and more than twice the value of exports to China.
Rice also raised the contentious issue of reforms at the United Nations during her talks with her Asean counterparts.
Reform document
Ahead of Wednesday's opening of the world's largest UN summit, a core negotiating group is grappling with a revised draft of a reform package that has been the subject of tough wrangling for the past three weeks.
The group was trying to come up with compromise language on issues such as development, terrorism, human rights, disarmament and non-proliferation and UN management reform.
The 39-page reform document attempts to reconcile the competing interests of rich and poor nations.
Rice said at the meeting that she hoped UN member nations would "arrive at a document which would make the UN more effective" and underlined the "importance of management reforms as part of the agreed document," according to McCormack.
She also said that Asean, being among few multilateral fora in East Asia, could be strengthened as a "very useful" vehicle for resolving issues involving the United States and the region.
Rice pinned her eyes on Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win during the talks on the sidelines of a United Nations summit and told him that his military regime was "out of step with the rest of the world" in not making progress in political and human rights reforms.
"She did single out Burma and emphasized that it was important that Burma undertake political and human rights reforms," US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters after the talks, using Myanmar's previous name.
"Those comments were directed toward him. She did look at him," McCormack said when asked whether Rice looked at Nyan Win as she made the sharp remarks. It was not known how Nyan Win reacted at the meeting - the first between Rice and the 10 foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) since she took office as the top US diplomat in January.
Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Myanmar's military rulers are accused by rights groups and western nations of a barrage of abuses, including forced labor, torture, extrajudicial killings and massive forced displacements of civilians.
Sticking point
Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is under arrest for campaigning against the military junta. Her National League for Democracy party won a 1990 election but the military junta refused to hand over power. The concerns over Myanmar have become a sticking point in US relations with Southeast Asia, and reportedly led to Rice skipping the annual Asean talks in July.
It was the first time in about two decades that a US secretary of state had stayed out of the talks.
The United States has traditionally been a key economic and security partner in Southeast Asia. It is also the biggest foreign investor in the region, America's third largest annual overseas export market and more than twice the value of exports to China.
Rice also raised the contentious issue of reforms at the United Nations during her talks with her Asean counterparts.
Reform document
Ahead of Wednesday's opening of the world's largest UN summit, a core negotiating group is grappling with a revised draft of a reform package that has been the subject of tough wrangling for the past three weeks.
The group was trying to come up with compromise language on issues such as development, terrorism, human rights, disarmament and non-proliferation and UN management reform.
The 39-page reform document attempts to reconcile the competing interests of rich and poor nations.
Rice said at the meeting that she hoped UN member nations would "arrive at a document which would make the UN more effective" and underlined the "importance of management reforms as part of the agreed document," according to McCormack.
She also said that Asean, being among few multilateral fora in East Asia, could be strengthened as a "very useful" vehicle for resolving issues involving the United States and the region.
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