{"id":1813,"date":"2012-11-22T14:17:55","date_gmt":"2012-11-22T14:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?p=1813"},"modified":"2012-11-22T14:23:11","modified_gmt":"2012-11-22T14:23:11","slug":"obama-aung-san-suu-kyi-meet-in-burma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2012\/11\/obama-aung-san-suu-kyi-meet-in-burma.html","title":{"rendered":"Obama, Aung San Suu Kyi meet in Burma"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Obama greeted Aung Sang San Suu Kyi during a stop at her private residence in Rangoon, Burma. In her Nobel Prize acceptance speech earlier this year, she reflected on the importance of kindness in the international human community: \u201cTo be kind is to respond with sensitivity and human warmth to the hopes and needs of others. Even the briefest touch of kindness can lighten a heavy heart. Kindness can change the lives of people.\u201d via Religion and Ethics News Weekly.\u00a0\u00a0[Official White House Photo by Pete Souza] For more great photos, the Washington Post has a great slideshow here<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton were in Burma (Myanmar) recently. This marked the first ever visit by a US President to the long-time \u201cpariah\u201d state of Burma.<\/p>\n
**His full, 34-minute speech at the University of Yangon is available here<\/strong> (or click** **here<\/a> for a 5-minute highlight clip):<\/p>\n**
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u00a0The speech is in many ways a basic civics lesson. He quotes Franklin D. Roosevelt\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wwnorton.com\/college\/history\/ralph\/workbook\/ralprs36b.htm\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Four Freedoms<\/a>\u201d (1941):<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Freedom of Speech<\/li>\n<li>Freedom of Worship<\/li>\n<li>Freedom from Want, and<\/li>\n<li>Freedom from Fear<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Burma\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Burma\u2019s history<\/a> is, sadly, one of a great deal of\u00a0<em>lack<\/em> of freedom. The country is extremely diverse (see this <a href=\"http:\/\/ccat.sas.upenn.edu\/plc\/clpp\/images\/langmaps\/burma_ethno_1972.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">ethnicity map<\/a>) and its various ethnic groups have historically only seen peace at the expense of one group\u00a0conquering\u00a0its neighbors. <strong>The recent violence between <a href='https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/library\/buddhism' target='_blank'>Buddhist<\/a> Rakhines and Muslim <a href=\"http:\/\/https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rohingya_people\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Rohingyas<\/a> in the western part of Burma received much attention recently, but <a href=\"http:\/\/https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rohingya_insurgency_in_Western_Burma\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">tensions and bloodshed there<\/a>\u00a0are (at least) as old as the country itself.<\/strong> This week Danny Fisher wrote an excellent article about this,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/dannyfisher\/2012\/11\/an-opportunity-for-aung-san-suu-kyi-president-obamaand-you\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">An Opportunity for Aung San Suu Kyi, President Obama\u2026and You<\/a>. Equally long and often more-bloody conflicts have raged on with the Karen, 15% of whom are Christians, as well as Shan and Kachin ethnic groups, both predominantly Buddhist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It is heartening to see <a href=\"http:\/\/https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aung_San_Suu_Kyi\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Aung San Suu Kyi<\/a> free from her many years of house arrest and, even more so, to see her as an elected member of the parliament<\/strong> there and free at last to travel the world raising awareness about her country\u2019s many issues. It is also good to see that the nation has a civilian President,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Thein_Sein\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Thein Sein<\/a>, even though he is a former military commander and has close ties to the long-ruling junta.<\/p>\n<p>But the country has a very long way to go. It was feared in the 1950s that democracy would only bring ethnic violence in the country, and that is what it did, giving the junta \u2018just cause\u2019 to lay down an iron-fisted rule that has lasted until recently. If the nation again slips into widespread ethnic violence, then democracy itself will likely be lost.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of concrete moves by President Obama, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usaid.gov\/news-information\/press-releases\/president-obama-announces-us-burma-partnership-democracy-peace\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">$170 million has been pledged<\/a> through USAID to help cultivate that democracy and secure peace in the country (a process that will by no means be easy).<\/p>\n<p>The visit was not without its critics, however. the US Campaign for Burma director, Jennifer Quigley, stated,\u00a0\u201cThe issue is the message it sends to those who have not been part of the reform agenda. <strong>This is basically telling them [the military] that they can do what they want<\/strong> because sanctions will still be lifted and there will be no repercussions for further repression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Concerning the many minority groups, she stated that,<strong>\u00a0\u201cThe conditions on the ground are still very bad and the many feel repressed and see all these changes being touted by the government as extremely fragile.<\/strong> They see this as a superficial peace process\u201d\u00a0(via <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/rundown\/2012\/11\/obama-visits-myanmar.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">pbs<\/a>).\u00a0You can support the US Campaign for Burma\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/uscampaignforburma.org\/donate.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a>, or join them on facebook\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscampaignforburma\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Last week, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/11\/15\/opinion\/a-rare-moment-for-myanmar-and-america.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1&\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">NYTimes featured an op-ed by Bill Richardson<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, secretary of energy and governor of New Mexico and\u00a0<strong>Mickey Bergman,<\/strong>\u00a0senior adviser to the Richardson Center for Global Engagement and executive director of the Aspen Institute Global Alliances Program, noting that, among the many difficulties ahead for Burma, \u201cthe government lacks basic capacity and knowledge on how to govern properly. Following decades of dictatorship, members of the executive, legislative and judicial branches have limited ability to provide adequate services to their constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While there is much reason for hope and optimism, let us not forget these sober assessments. Meanwhile perhaps keep in mind this very old Buddhist teaching:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Just as water cools both good and bad,<br>\nAnd washes away all impurity and dust,<br>\nIn the same way you should develop thoughts of love<br>\nTo friend and foe alike,<br>\nAnd having reached perfection in love,<br>\nYou will attain enlightenment.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jataka Atthakatha. I,24<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cyath\u0101pi udaka\u1e43 n\u0101ma, kaly\u0101\u1e47e p\u0101pake jane.<\/em><br>\n<em>sama\u1e43 pharati s\u012btena, pav\u0101heti rajomala\u1e43.<\/em><br>\n<em>tatheva tvampi ahitahite, sama\u1e43 mett\u0101ya bh\u0101vaya.<\/em><br>\n<em>mett\u0101p\u0101ramita\u1e43 gantv\u0101, sambodhi\u1e43 p\u0101pu\u1e47issas\u012b\u201d ti.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(via\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/pali.sirimangalo.org\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/pali.sirimangalo.org\/<\/a> \u2013 daily Buddha Vacana for Thursday, November 22, 2012)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton were in Burma (Myanmar) recently. This marked the first ever visit by a US President to the long-time \u201cpariah\u201d state of Burma. His full, 34-minute speech at the University of Yangon is available here (or click here for a 5-minute highlight clip): \u00a0The speech is in many ways […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,5,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-buddhist-ethics","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Obama, Aung San Suu Kyi meet in Burma<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton were in Burma (Myanmar) recently. 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I have a BA and almost an MA in (Western) Philosophy from the University of Montana-Missoula, an MA in Buddhist Studies from Bristol University, UK, and I am currently working on a Ph.D. in Buddhist Ethics at the U of London. My main academic foci are early Buddhist ethics and Kant (odd combination, I know). I also study Western ethics, Tibetan Buddhism, Theravada, Comparative philosophy, and Environmental ethics. I also like photography, running, drinking wine, and eating peanut butter (often in that order).\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/author\/justinwhitaker\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Obama, Aung San Suu Kyi meet in Burma","description":"President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton were in Burma (Myanmar) recently. 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