Hillary Clinton Will Visit Burma In December

President Obama announced this morning that Hillary Clinton will become the fist U.S. Secretary of State to visit Burma in over fifty years.

In a speech in Bali, Obama said he will send Clinton to the tiny southeast Asian country, formerly known as Myanmar, in an effort to build on recent political reforms undertaken by the Burmese government.

After decades of being ruled by a military junta, Burma is slowly transforming into a representative government, though the military still has heavy influence on the political process.

The move to dispatch Clinton to the region is due in large part to Burma’s decision to free democratic activist Aung San Suu Kyi.

“As the daughter of Burma’s founding father, and a fierce advocate for her fellow citizens, she’s endured prison and house arrest, just as so many Burmese have endured repression,” Obama said. “Yet,” he added, “after years of darkness, we’ve seen flickers of progress in these last several weeks…A dialogue between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi has begun. The government has released some political prisoners. Media restrictions have been relaxed.  And legislation has been approved that could open the political environment.”