A key US senator on Tuesday backed an end to sanctions on Myanmar after a landmark visit by the country's reformist leader, signaling a new normalization in relations despite rights concerns.
President Thein Sein, a general-turned-civilian who ended Myanmar's long isolation from the West, met lawmakers at the US Capitol one day after the first White House summit by a leader of his country in nearly 50 years.
Senator Mitch McConnell, who has spearheaded Myanmar sanctions for the past decade over human rights concerns, said after his meeting that he would not support a renewal of a ban on imports from the country.
"I believe renewing sanctions would be a slap in the face to Myanmar reformers and embolden those within Myanmar who want to slow or reverse reform," said McConnell, who serves as the Republican Party's Senate leader.
President Barack Obama has already waived most sanctions on Myanmar but Congress has kept the laws on the books each year, hoping that the threat of reimposing restrictions would motivate the government to address problems.
McConnell, who said he gave the issue "a great deal of thought," dismissed suggestions that the US would lose leverage and said that a ban on gems - a key revenue source for the junta - would remain.
The senator from Kentucky said the move would give US companies an even playing field with competitors from the European Union and Australia, which are not subject to sanctions.
But Thein Sein also met separately with four House members from Obama's Democratic Party, who handed him a list of nearly 250 inmates allegedly jailed for political reasons and urged an end to ethnic violence.
The prisoners "deserve the opportunity to participate in the future of the country, and we believe they should be released immediately and unconditionally," the lawmakers said in a letter handed to Thein Sein.
The United States and Myanmar on Tuesday also signed an accord to formalize dialogue on trade, a day after Thein Sein made a pitch to US business leaders for investment in his poor but growing country.
AFP