U.S. Senator Jim Webb made significant inroads on his visit to Burma Saturday, meeting separately with the head of Burma's ruling military government and the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Senator Webb also secured the release of an American jailed for visiting Aung San Suu Kyi.
美国参议员吉姆.韦布星期六在他的缅甸之行中突破性地单独会晤了缅甸执政的军政府领导人和民主派领袖昂山素季。韦布参议员还争取到了使被缅甸当局关押的一名美国人获释。这名美国人因拜访昂山素季而被判刑。
Within hours of holding talks with Burma's leader General Than Shwe in the administrative capital Naypyitaw, Senator Jim Webb flew to Rangoon and met with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a government guest house.
参议员吉姆.韦布与缅甸领导人丹瑞大将在缅甸行政首都内比都举行了会晤。会晤结束后几个小时，他乘飞机前往仰光，在一家政府招待所里会见了民主派领导人昂山素季。
The unprecedented access to Aung San Suu Kyi comes just days after her house arrest was extended to another 18 months. She was convicted Tuesday of violating the terms of her house arrest after American John Yettaw swam uninvited to her lakeside villa in May and stayed for two days.
在韦布参议员史无前例地见到昂山素季仅几天前，昂山素季刚刚被判延长软禁18个月。她星期二被判决违反了软禁规定，原因是5月份一名名叫约翰.耶托的美国人在没有被批准的情况下，游泳来到昂山素季在一个湖边的住所，并留宿了两天。
Webb secured the release of Yettaw, who had been sentenced to seven years in prison. Yettaw will leave Burma Sunday for Thailand together with the senator.
韦布参议员还争取到了耶托的获释。耶托被判处七年监禁。他将在星期天跟随韦布一同离开缅甸前往泰国。
In a statement, Webb said he is grateful to Burma's government for honoring those requests. He says he hopes the U.S. and Burma could "take advantage of these gestures as a way to begin laying a foundation of goodwill and confidence-building in the future."
韦布在一份声明中说，他对缅甸政府能够满足他的要求表示感激。他说，他希望美国和缅甸能够，按他的话说，“把这些善意的举动当成是未来友好和建立互信的基础”。
Senator Webb became the first senior U.S. official to meet with the reclusive General Than Shwe. The Democrat senator is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs. He has publicly expressed support for diplomacy, aimed at eventually lifting U.S. sanctions on Burma.
韦布参议员成为第一个见到很少露面的丹瑞将军的美国资深官员。这位民主党籍的参议员是参议员外交关系委员会东亚和太平洋事务小组委员会主席。他曾经公开表示支持以外交手段最终解除美国对缅甸的制裁。
Both the White House and the State Department say Webb is not carrying any specific message from U.S. President Barack Obama.
美国白宫和国务院都表示，韦布没有替总统奥巴马传达任何具体信息。
Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the rights group, Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma in Bangkok says it is still unclear whether real political reforms in Burma will follow.
人权组织“替东盟解决缅甸问题”的协调员黛比.斯托瑟德在曼谷表示，目前还不清楚缅甸接下来是否会有真正意义上的政治改革。
"General Than Shwe would have welcomed Senator Webb as an ally because Senator Webb has taken a public stand against US sanctions against the regime," she said. "He would have gone out of his way to grant Senator Webb a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi."
斯托瑟德说：“丹瑞将军会把韦布参议员当作是一个盟友去欢迎他，因为韦布一直公开反对美国对缅甸政权的制裁。他会允许韦布参议员会见昂山素季。”
"If we really want to see change, if we really want to see Senator Webb making a change on Burma, we've got to see the release of political prisoners and cessation of military hostilities against ethnic nationality groups," she added.
“如果我们真的希望看到变化，我们真的希望看到韦布参议员让缅甸发生变化，那么我们就必须看到缅甸当局释放政治犯，停止对缅甸各民族采取军事敌对行动。”
Senator Webb also met with Prime Minister Thien Sein, Foreign Minister Nyan Win, the chairman of the State Constitution Drafting Commission Aung Toe and representatives from political parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and state-affiliated social organizations.
韦布参议员还会晤了缅甸总理登盛、外交部长吴年温、国家宪法起草委员会主席昂梭，以及各政党的代表，包括昂山素季节的全国民主联盟还有政府所属的社会团体。
Webb's visit has raised speculation of a policy shift in Washington toward the repressive state. The White House said prior to the meeting that Webb would convey "strong" U.S. views on Burma's political future.
韦布访问缅甸使人们猜测华盛顿可能改变对缅甸的政策。白宫在韦布会见丹瑞前曾表示，韦布将传达美国对缅甸政治前景的强烈看法。
Last month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the release of Aung San Suu Kyi would open doors for an expansion in bilateral ties and U.S. investments in Burma. The U.S. has imposed economic sanctions on Burma's government, including an investment ban, because of the government's repressive policies.
美国国务卿希拉里.克林顿上个月说，释放昂山素季将开启改善双边关系和扩大美国对缅甸投资的大门。由于缅甸政府的压迫政策，美国对缅甸实行经济制裁，包括禁止在缅甸投资。 |