Senator: No US trade benefits for Myanmar before election

MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States should not provide trade benefits to Myanmar until after November parliamentary elections that will signal the state of political reform in the former pariah state, the Senate leader said Thursday.

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell strongly criticized the quasi-civilian government of Myanmar for blocking changes late last month to a junta-era constitution that still gives the military a veto on any amendments and prevents opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running for the presidency.

McConnell, who is a prominent voice in Congress on U.S. policy toward Myanmar, said its leaders "took a step backward from the path to more representative government."

He said additional steps to normalize relations, such as including Myanmar in a program that provides duty-free benefits to poor countries, should be put on hold until after the vote.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of the Nov. 8 election date, saying a credible parliamentary vote will be an important step in Myanmar's democratic transition. He said the U.S. was providing technical support to the election commission, political parties and civil society to ensure elections are "inclusive and transparent."

The last general election was held in 2010 under rules widely seen as rigging the outcome to favor a military-backed party, which won the lion's share of parliamentary seats. This year's vote is expected to be more competitive, with Suu Kyi's party likely to fare well.

But McConnell warned that because of the defeat of the constitutional reforms, "even if the actual conduct of the election proves to be free and fair, it risks being something other than the will of the people."

-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-10

A Republican-dominated USA Congress and a Presidential Election next year does not bode well for Myanmar OR Thailand so long as democracy remains suppressed.

POTUS and Democrat Obama is engaged in high-stake geopolitical contests with major world powers in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia. I doubt he'll chose soft diplomacy to counter any threat to democracy in Myanmar and Thailand. To do so might also weaken the eventual Democratic Candidate for POTUS.

Somebody better tell this guy that big business America is already in Burma buying up or tying up large blocks of industrial land to build their cheap labor factories and take advantage of almost non existent labor and pollution laws. These guys jump from country to country like frogs in heat where ever labor is the cheapest and plentiful. They close down old plants and build new ones faster than daisies sprout up in a field. They just use generous government write offs to shut plants and move on. Big business is becoming Nomadic in nature thanks to all the free trade deals that Washington signs. Sadly dear workers there is no security pensions or benefits to be had from these modern day freebooters. Its modern day piracy and you will not share in the spoils.