Obama takes on role as adviser and ally for Burma’s pro-democracy aspirations

“If you were the president of Burma,” a young man began as he questioned President Obama at a town hall-style event Friday. The crowd at Yangon University laughed. So did their guest.

“You’re always popular in somebody else’s country,” Obama replied with a chuckle.

But the hypothetical question in Rangoon contained a kernel of truth that revealed itself during his three-day visit to this Southeast Asian nation, which is in the fitful throes of trying to emerge from a half-century of authoritarian military rule.

On separate trips to the opulent presidential palace in Naypyidaw and to the stately Rangoon villa of Burma’s most famous politician, Obama played the role of de facto adviser to President Thein Sein and the Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains blocked by constitutional rules from seeking the presidency.

Obama charted his own path forward for Burma, laying down markers for progress on reforms ranging from protecting religious minorities to changing the constitution to ensuring a “fair and free” election next year.

Obama was careful to emphasize that it was up to the Burmese people, and their elected leaders, to carry out what he described. But he was unequivocal about the core values that underscored his vision.

“I expressed an objective view that some of the current provisions don’t seem to have a grounding in common sense or precedence,” he said at a news conference with Suu Kyi, referring to the constitutional provision that bars her from running for the presidency because her sons are British citizens.

That Obama spoke about a set of American ideals and the need for other nations to embrace them is not remarkable. He did so this week at an international economic forum in Beijing and he is expected to do so again in a major speech about U.S. leadership in Asia from Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday.

In Burma, however, the message Obama is delivering — and the role he is playing to support it — is more personal and tangible than with any other country in the world.

Burma, as Thein Sein and Suu Kyi know well, is reliant foremost on the United States, its geopolitical influence and its economic largesse, to make sure the difficult reforms withstand immense challenges and, in some cases, outright resistance within the country.

For Obama, Burma also represents an important U.S. initiative in statecraft to counter widening Chinese influence in the region.

The Burmese president and the democratic opposition leader — despite reports of divisions between them the Obama administration — each sought this week to minimize signs of friction and present the picture that they are working together to prod the nation forward.

Thein Sein, whose administration has been criticized for stifling reforms and who has been increasingly isolated in the antiseptic state capital of Naypyidaw, welcomed Obama to the presidential palace for the first time Thursday night. Obama’s 24-vehicle motorcade drove along darkened boulevards with no signs of other traffic, passing elaborate roundabouts and colorful water fountain displays before turning into the long road leading to the palace. There were no residents on the streets to watch his arrival.

An enormous white marble palace, looking larger -- and more opulent -- than the White House, came in sight. The motorcade crossed over a moat on a bridge with white suspension spokes before pulling up to the entrance of massive wood-paneled doors.

Thein Sein greeted him in an enormous state room, with a golden Buddhist throne that loomed above a pair of golden arm chairs for the two presidents, who met for an hour.

Afterward, Thein Sein told reporters that they had a “candid and constructive discussion on some of the solutions and difficulties and challenges” and he asked for patience for his administration.

Obama praised the government’s efforts in some areas, including the release of political prisoners and the reduction of children forced to serve in the military. But he said the “process is still incomplete,” and raised concerns about the transparency of next year’s elections.

On Friday, Obama boarded Air Force One for the 40-minute flight to Rangoon. In 2012, the president had chosen that city for his first visit to Burma, which is also known as Myanmar. He was given a hero’s welcome two years ago, with thousands of children lining the streets waving flags of both nations as the presidential motorcade passed by.

That kind of reception was missing this time, but Rangoon still presented itself, in contrast to Naypyidaw’s ghostly and gaudy excesses, as warm and alive as the motorcade wound through the streets.

“When I was driving through here, everyone had a cell phone,” Obama marveled during the town hall event. “There were some guys who didn’t even have a shirt, but they had smart phones,” he added, launching into a dissertation on the merits of globalism.

When his entourage pulled into Suu Kyi’s driveway, she stepped out of her home to greet him wearing a turquoise-colored traditional longyi. They shook hands and he kissed her on the cheek. They disappeared inside the residence for a private conversation.

Suu Kyi has been critical of the pace of reform and said at a news conference before the president’s trip that the United States had been “overly optimistic.” By the time they emerged an hour later, such talk was over.

“We may have a different view at times, but that in no way affects our friendship,” she told reporters assembled on her lawn. “Please don’t worry about any problems between the United States and those working on democracy in Burma. We all believe in the same values and all believe in the same principles.”

Obama spoke of the need to protect the safety of Muslim minorities living in the Rakhine state, who have been persecuted by the government and are confined to squalid camps. The president, for the first time, called the Rohingya people by their ethnic name, which the government has rejected.

“Last time I stood here, I made a pledge to the people of Burma that if we continued to see progress reform, ties would grow stronger, and the United States would do whatever it could to ensure Burma’s success,” Obama said. “In the last two years we’ve made good on that pledge.”

At the university, he attempted to drive home that point by answering questions for an hour in front of hundreds of students at the school, which reopened last year after student-led protests closed the campus in 1988.

Obama called on a young man who stood up clutching a piece of paper, on which he had written down his question. As he fumbled around, Obama reached out and took the document from him.

The president took a closer look.

“There’s too many questions on here,” Obama said. “Just ask me one of them. I’ll read the rest.”