Sen. Webb Advocates Engaging Myanmar

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American John Yettaw is a free man today after U.S. Senator Jim Webb secured his release during a weekend visit to Myanmar. Yettaws the man who got himself arrested after he swam to the lakeside home of detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu�Kyi. It happened in May.

Senator Webb also got to meet with Aung San Suu�Kyi and hes hoping that meeting, along with John Yettaws release were good will gestures that could lead to better relations between the U.S. and Myanmar after years of confrontation. Heres NPRs Michael Sullivan.

MICHAEL SULLIVAN: Heres a fact: sanctions have not worked in persuading Myanmars military to release Aung San Suu Kyi or return the country to democratic rule. Senator Webb, speaking to reporters yesterday in Bangkok.

Senator JIM WEBB (Democrat, Virginia): And yet at the same time these sanctions have allowed China to dramatically increase its economic and political influence in Myanmar. This is not healthy for the region.

SULLIVAN: Webb advocates more engagement with Myanmar, also known as Burma. An approach that helped facilitate his visit there this weekend and one the Obama administration seems interested in as well.

Senator Webb says its still early days and hes not expecting miracles. He says he asked the generals to release Aung San Suu Kyi, but isnt holding his breath. Nor does he expect next years elections, part of what the generals call their roadmap to democracy, to be free and fair, especially if Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention. But he says that shouldnt keep the U.S. from engaging Myanmars military leaders, as it engages politically and economically with other repressive regimes.

Senator WEBB: Ask yourself when the last time China had an election is - or Vietnam? The Vietnamese agreed, in 1972 at the Paris peace talks, to have internationally sanctioned free and open elections. They havent had them yet. Im not trying to defend Myanmar - the Myanmar government - but lets take opportunities when they arise and see what we can make out of them.

SULLIVAN: The idea of engaging Myanmars military is also finding traction among some in the Burmese exile community whove concluded the previous all-or-nothing approach tied to the fate of one woman simply hasnt worked. Political analyst Hung Nang Ju(ph).

Mr. HUNG NANG JU (Political analyst): The moral argument is important, but I think the moral argument hasnt made any headway into change in Burma. Engagement is better, development is better - so I think Western government should bring in a bit of pragmatism to bring the military out of isolation. Isolation hasnt worked.

SULLIVAN: More pragmatism, he says, might lead to some concessions on the part of the military, such as the release of some of the 2,100 political prisoners being held in Burmese prisons. More pragmatism, he says, might convince the military to allow more access for aid workers to provide health care and education. And more pragmatism, he says, might help create some distance between the generals and China.

Mr. JU: The Burmese military wants to make friends with the West. Burmese military knows they need to practice a bit of independence. They have China. They have India. You know, they are right between two rivals. So they know, you know, if they can play these big powers off each other theyre better off.

SULLIVAN: Critics of engagement, however, say the military has no intention of easing its grip on power, now or next year after the elections many Western governments and human rights groups have already dismissed as a sham designed to solidify the militarys grip on power indefinitely.

That may be true, but Aung Zaw, a Burmese exile and editor at the Irrawaddy magazine in Thailand isnt convinced. Aung Zaw, whos normally a pessimist, says its still too early to dismiss these tentative first steps toward engagement as a failure.

Mr. AUNG ZAW (Editor, Irrawaddy magazine): Well, that depends on the nature of the Burmese government. Are they going to compromise in the coming months with the election, with Aung San Suu Kyi detention, with the prisoners release? Nothing is hopeless. That something could happen - you cannot lose hope. How things are going to play out we don't know, so we have to wait and see.

SULLIVAN: Senator Webb says hell be briefing Secretary of State Clinton on his talks with Myanmars military rulers when he returns to Washington after stops in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Michael Sullivan, NPR News, Bangkok.

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