Myanmar’s military has a proud history and will continue to play a major role in the country, President Thein Sein said in an interview with the Washington Post on Sunday ahead of a meeting with his US counterpart at the White House.
The army “will always have a special place” in government, Thein Sein is quoted as saying, and he dismissed allegations that the military participated in recent communal violence against the country’s Muslim community.
“In the lengthy interview, Thein Sein made little attempt to promote a picture of vigorous reform in [Myanmar], or to sell himself as the pivotal leader who will turn the former prison state into a democracy,” the Washington Post said.
The US government recently lifted most economic sanctions on Myanmar but left in place restrictions on specific individuals and business leaders seen as close to the former military junta.
