WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior U.S. envoy returning from high-level talks in Myanmar says he is optimistic that engagement on human rights with its reformist government can yield concrete results.
The country also known as Burma is emerging from an international isolation imposed over its brutal suppression of democracy activists and ethnic rebels.
Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner led the U.S. delegation for an unprecedented two-day human rights dialogue. Among those taking part were government ministers, military officials and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner.
Posner told The Associated Press Thursday he had not known what to expect from the talks but found officials open and honest, and willing to engage in a practical way on matters including political prisoners and fighting in Myanmar's border regions.
