President Barack Obama announced the long-awaited nomination of Asia policy expert Derek J. Mitchell to be U.S. Ambassador to Burma Thursday, putting the final touches on a series of diplomatic gestures to the country in recent months.
"Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between the United States and Burma," Obama said in a statement. "Today, I am nominating our first U.S. Ambassador to Burma in 22 years, Derek Mitchell, whose work has been instrumental in bringing about this new phase in our bilateral relationship."
The presidential statement, which came during a rare visit to the U.S. by Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, also said the U.S. would be easing long-term sanctions on the Southeast Asian nation, specifically on the exportation of financial services and new investment.
"Opening up greater economic engagement between our two countries is critical to supporting reformers in government and civil society, facilitating broad-based economic development, and bringing Burma out of isolation and into the international community," the president added.
During a conference call Thursday afternoon, a senior Obama administration official gave more detail on the easing of the sanctions, saying "the approach here essentially is to take the bluntness out of the sanctions that have been there to date."
The sanctions will now specifically target "bad actors" in the country and will not be targeting specific sectors such as oil and gas. "We want to disincentivize bad behaviors and incentivize constructive behavior" with these sanctions, the official added.
The State Department also announced Thursday it will be enhancing U.S.-Burma people-to-people exchanges in the coming months.
Currently the Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma at State, Mitchell has worked on Asia issues for the State and Defense Departments since the late 1990s and has been key in the Obama administrations re-engagement policy. Many Burma watchers had impatiently waited for the announcement of his nomination.
"[Mitchell's] nomination was held up because the United States was awaiting confirmation of the Burmese candidate to become Ambassador here in Washington, D.C. and wanted to ensure agreement would be given before they approved Mr. Mitchell," Center for Strategic and International Studies Southeast Asia Program Director Ernest Bower told RTTNews.
"This announcement, along with the suspension of some U.S. sanctions on investment, have been timed as deliverables for the Foreign Minister's visit to Washington, D.C.," Bower added.
The announcement was also well-received on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have long been in favor of the Obama strategy, one of the singular bipartisan issues, proving politics really can end at the water's edge.
After recommendations earlier this month from Senators John McCain, R-Ariz., and Jim Webb, D-Virg., to ease sanctions on Burma, the Republicans were the first to issue a statement on today's historic announcement.
"Today's announcements strike an appropriate balance between encouraging the process of reform now unfolding in Burma, while maintaining sufficient leverage to continue pressing the Burmese government for additional progress," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., and McCain said in a statement today.
However, lawmakers and members of all branches of government agree significant further steps needs to be taken by Burma to prove their long-term commitment to reform.
Both the president's and McConnell's statements highlighted multiple remaining issues such as Burma-North Korea ties, political prisoners, ethnic minority repression and blocks to freedom of expression.
If these issues are addressed, "we can expect to see a more complete suspension of U.S. sanctions" this year, Bower told RTTNews.
When asked about these issues during Thursday's conference call, the senior administration official said "we will look to local communities to engage with them" and NGOs "to get greater fidelity and insight into these types of activities. And we will do everything possible...to ensure there are no benefits to people [undertaking human rights violations] in this policy."
The next step for the administration is to secure Mitchell's Senate confirmation, a necessary step before he can take up his position.
Mitchell's confirmation will happen "in the near term so he can be in place in Myanmar ahead of Secretary Clinton's planned trip in July," Bower told RTTNews.
If nothing else, the recent diplomatic gestures and reforms taking place in Burma help bolster the president's much maligned engagement foreign policy, which many lawmakers once criticized as too soft.
Referring to this policy - that the U.S. will extend a hand if closed regimes are willing to unclench their fists - the presidential statement today read, "as an iron fist has unclenched in Burma, we have extended our hand, and are entering a new phase in our engagement on behalf of a more democratic and prosperous future for the Burmese people."
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