Chiang Mai - United States President George Bush is planning on using the occasion of his upcoming stopover in Thailand to meet with Burmese dissidents and press for change inside Thailand's troubled neighbor.
In an interview with Suthichai Sae-Yoon of the Nation Multimedia Group (Thailand) and released by the White House yesterday, Bush described Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as "a very heroic woman that was elected overwhelmingly by her people, and has now been under house arrest by a group of military guys that just simply won't allow the will of the people to -- to flourish."
The president also reaffirmed his commitment to meet with human rights and Burmese activists during his stay. "I will be speaking to activists to let them know that the United States of America hears their voices. And, you know, it's a tough issue for some countries," said the President from the Map Room in the White House.
It is expected that Bush will meet with Burmese dissidents in Bangkok on August 7th at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador.
Burma's generals have long drawn the ire of the human rights community, most recently over the inadequate and inefficient handling of relief operations in the wake of Cyclone Nargis – which resulted in the death and disappearance of some 140,000 Burmese citizens.
When confronted on the apparent failure of a U.S. led sanctions approach to pressure Burma's generals for change, the President was quick to blame the lack of success on the refusal of all countries to maintain a similar posture.
"(T)he idea of unilateral sanctions, they're effective only to a certain extent. And, therefore, other countries must also join, and, frankly, there's some countries in the neighborhood that aren't interested in joining," explained Bush.
The ten-country consortium of ASEAN, of which Burma and Thailand are each members, has consistently balked at considering comprehensive sanctions against Burma's generals, instead preferring a policy molded around engagement.
Only two months ago the Thai energy firm PTT Exploration and Production inked the latest economic partnership with Naypyitaw – Burma's capital. The agreement concerns the development of the M9 block in the Gulf of Martaban. Eighty percent of the field's natural gas is to be exported to Thailand.
While the President is in Bangkok, the First Lady, Laura Bush, is expected to make a trip to the Thai-Burma border area in the vicinity of Mae Sot – opposite Myawaddy in Burma. The First Lady has been a staunch supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi and elements within the Burmese opposition movement for five years now.
The President and First Lady are set to arrive in the Thai capital next week ahead of attending the Beijing Olympics – set to commence on the 20th anniversary of the 8-8-88 nationwide uprising in Burma, which resulted in the deaths of at least 3,000 civilians at the hands of Burma's military.
Despite numerous organizations and activists pushing for the President to make a political statement out of the Games, specifically referencing China's continued economic and political support for the Burmese regime, Bush remains adamant that he will not politicize the Beijing Games. "I don't think the Olympics should be politicized," he told Sae-Yoon.
However, the President earned a sharp rebuke this week from Liu Jianchao of the Chinese Foreign Ministry following his meeting with Chinese dissidents in Washington on Wednesday.
