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  • DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI: I would like to say how happy I am to receive President Obama

  • in my country and in my house. The friendship between our two countries is of long standing.

  • The United States has been staunch in its support of the democracy movement in Burma,

  • and we are confident that this support will continue through the difficult years that

  • lie ahead. I say difficult because the most difficult time in any transition is when we

  • think that success is in sight. Then we have to be very careful that we are not lured by

  • a mirage of success and that we are working to a genuine success for our people and for

  • the friendship between our two countries.

  • I believe that we have been able to discuss our various concerns openly, and that as a

  • result of the President’s visit to this country, the relations between our countries

  • can only progress in the right direction.

  • I intend fully to keep in touch with the United States government as far as possible, and

  • to make sure that we always liaise one another on the most important matters.

  • Now, I’m told I have three minutes, and I think this is about three minutes. So thank

  • you all for coming. And I leave the floor to President Obama.

  • PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I’ll try to be pretty brief, although not as eloquent. I was honored

  • to be the first President to welcome Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to the White House. I’m proud

  • to be the first American President to visit this spectacular country, and I am very pleased

  • that one of my first stops is to visit with an icon of democracy who has inspired so many

  • people not just in this country but all around the world.

  • I especially want to thank Aung San Suu Kyi for welcoming me to her home. Here, through

  • so many difficult years, is where she displayed such unbreakable courage and determination.

  • It’s here where she showed that human freedom and dignity cannot be denied.

  • Today marks the next step in a new chapter between the United States and Burma. Last

  • year, in response to early flickers of reform, I asked Secretary Clinton to visit this country

  • and explore with Aung San Suu Kyi and the government whether the United States could

  • empower reform efforts and begin a new relationship between our peoples.

  • In the year since, weve seen some very encouraging progress, including Daw Aung San

  • Suu Kyi’s release and election to Parliament; the release of political prisoners; the lifting

  • of restrictions on the press; and new laws to expand labor rights and eliminate the use

  • of child soldiers. And at my direction, the United States has responded to support these

  • reforms, including the easing of sanctions.

  • Now, as a former legislator myself, I followed your role in the new Parliament with interest

  • and admiration. Real democracy involves having different branches of government check and

  • balance each other, and I applaud your efforts in that regard, particularly as the head of

  • the committee of the rule of law.

  • In my discussions here in Yangon, our goal is to sustain the momentum for democratization.

  • That includes building credible government institutions, establishing rule of law, ending

  • ethnic conflicts, and ensuring that the people of this country have access to greater education,

  • health care, and economic opportunity.

  • And I want to make a pledge to the people of this country that I am confident we can

  • keep, and that is if we see continued progress towards reform, our bilateral ties will grow

  • stronger and we will do everything we can to help ensure success.

  • I'm so happy, by the way, to be joined by Secretary Clinton. This is her last foreign

  • trip that we're going to take together, and it is fitting that we have come here to a

  • country that she has done so much to support.

  • Where did Hillary go? Where is she? There she is. (Applause.)

  • I could not be more grateful, not only for your service, Hillary, but also for the powerful

  • message that you and Aung San Suu Kyi send about the importance of women and men everywhere

  • embracing and promoting democratic values and human rights.

  • So again, I want to thank you, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, for your extraordinary hospitality

  • and grace; the power of your example, which has been an inspiration to people all around

  • the world, including myself. Clearly, you will be playing a key role in your country's

  • future for many years to come as Burma seeks the freedom and the prosperity and the dignity

  • that not only the people of this country deserve but people all around the world deserve.

  • So thank you for your inspiring message. (Applause.)

  • PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. (Applause.) Myanmar Naingan, Mingalaba! (Laughter and applause.)

  • I am very honored to be here at this university and to be the first President of the United

  • States of America to visit your country.

  • I came here because of the importance of your country. You live at the crossroads of East

  • and South Asia. You border the most populated nations on the planet. You have a history

  • that reaches back thousands of years, and the ability to help determine the destiny

  • of the fastest growing region of the world.

  • I came here because of the beauty and diversity of your country. I have seen just earlier

  • today the golden stupa of Shwedagon, and have been moved by the timeless idea of metta -- the

  • belief that our time on this Earth can be defined by tolerance and by love. And I know

  • this land reaches from the crowded neighborhoods of this old city to the homes of more than

  • 60,000 villages; from the peaks of the Himalayas, the forests of Karen State, to the banks of

  • the Irrawady River.

  • I came here because of my respect for this university. It was here at this school where

  • opposition to colonial rule first took hold. It was here that Aung San edited a magazine

  • before leading an independence movement. It was here that U Thant learned the ways of

  • the world before guiding it at the United Nations. Here, scholarship thrived during

  • the last century and students demanded their basic human rights. Now, your Parliament has

  • at last passed a resolution to revitalize this university and it must reclaim its greatness,

  • because the future of this country will be determined by the education of its youth.

  • I came here because of the history between our two countries. A century ago, American

  • traders, merchants and missionaries came here to build bonds of faith and commerce and friendship.

  • And from within these borders in World War II, our pilots flew into China and many of

  • our troops gave their lives. Both of our nations emerged from the British Empire, and the United

  • States was among the first countries to recognize an independent Union of Burma. We were proud

  • to found an American Center in Rangoon and to build exchanges with schools like this

  • one. And through decades of differences, Americans have been united in their affection for this

  • country and its people.

  • Above all, I came here because of America’s belief in human dignity. Over the last several

  • decades, our two countries became strangers. But today, I can tell you that we always remained

  • hopeful about the people of this country, about you. You gave us hope and we bore witness

  • to your courage.

  • We saw the activists dressed in white visit the families of political prisoners on Sundays

  • and monks dressed in saffron protesting peacefully in the streets. We learned of ordinary people

  • who organized relief teams to respond to a cyclone, and heard the voices of students

  • and the beats of hip-hop artists projecting the sound of freedom. We came to know exiles

  • and refugees who never lost touch with their families or their ancestral home. And we were

  • inspired by the fierce dignity of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as she proved that no human being

  • can truly be imprisoned if hope burns in your heart.

  • When I took office as President, I sent a message to those governments who ruled by

  • fear. I said, in my inauguration address, “We will extend a hand if you are willing

  • to unclench your fist.” And over the last year and a half, a dramatic transition has

  • begun, as a dictatorship of five decades has loosened its grip. Under President Thein Sein,

  • the desire for change has been met by an agenda for reform. A civilian now leads the government,

  • and a parliament is asserting itself. The once-outlawed National League for Democracy

  • stood in an election, and Aung San Suu Kyi is a Member of Parliament. Hundreds of prisoners

  • of conscience have been released, and forced labor has been banned. Preliminary cease-fires

  • have been reached with ethnic armies, and new laws allow for a more open economy.

  • So today, I’ve come to keep my promise and extend the hand of friendship. America now

  • has an Ambassador in Rangoon, sanctions have been eased, and we will help rebuild an economy

  • that can offer opportunity for its people, and serve as an engine of growth for the world.

  • But this remarkable journey has just begun, and has much further to go. Reforms launched

  • from the top of society must meet the aspirations of citizens who form its foundation. The flickers

  • of progress that we have seen must not be extinguished -- they must be strengthened;

  • they must become a shining North Star for all this nation’s people.

  • And your success in that effort is important to the United States, as well as to me. Even

  • though we come from different places, we share common dreams: to choose our leaders; to live

  • together in peace; to get an education and make a good living; to love our families and

  • our communities. That’s why freedom is not an abstract idea; freedom is the very thing

  • that makes human progress possible -- not just at the ballot box, but in our daily lives.

  • One of our greatest Presidents in the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, understood

  • this truth. He defined America’s cause as more than the right to cast a ballot. He understood

  • democracy was not just voting. He called upon the world to embrace four fundamental freedoms:

  • freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These four

  • freedoms reinforce one another, and you cannot fully realize one without realizing them all.

  • So that's the future that we seek for ourselves, and for all people. And that is what I want

  • to speak to you about today.

  • First, we believe in the right of free expression so that the voices of ordinary people can

  • be heard, and governments reflect their will -- the people's will.

  • In the United States, for more than two centuries, we have worked to keep this promise for all

  • of our citizens -- to win freedom for those who were enslaved; to extend the right to

  • vote for women and African Americans; to protect the rights of workers to organize.

  • And we recognize no two nations achieve these rights in exactly the same way, but there

  • is no question that your country will be stronger if it draws on the strength of all of its

  • people. That’s what allows nations to succeed. That’s what reform has begun to do.

  • Instead of being repressed, the right of people to assemble together must now be fully respected.

  • Instead of being stifled, the veil of media censorship must continue to be lifted. And

  • as you take these steps, you can draw on your progress. Instead of being ignored, citizens

  • who protested the construction of the Myitsone dam were heard. Instead of being outlawed,

  • political parties have been allowed to participate. You can see progress being made. As one voter

  • said during the parliamentary elections here, “Our parents and grandparents waited for

  • this, but never saw it.” And now you can see it. You can taste freedom.

  • And to protect the freedom of all the voters, those in power must accept constraints. That's

  • what our American system is designed to do. Now, America may have the strongest military

  • in the world, but it must submit to civilian control. I, as the President of the United

  • States, make determinations that the military then carries out, not the other way around.

  • As President and Commander-In-Chief, I have that responsibility because I'm accountable

  • to the people.

  • Now, on other hand, as President, I cannot just impose my will on Congress -- the Congress

  • of the United States -- even though sometimes I wish I could. The legislative branch has

  • its own powers and its own prerogatives, and so they check my power and balance my power.

  • I appoint some of our judges, but I cannot tell them how to rule, because every person

  • in America -- from a child living in poverty to me, the President of the United States

  • -- is equal under the law. And a judge can make a determination as to whether or not

  • I am upholding the law or breaking the law. And I am fully accountable to that law.

  • And I describe our system in the United States because that's how you must reach for the

  • future that you deserve -- a future where a single prisoner of conscience is one too

  • many. You need to reach for a future where the law is stronger than any single leader,

  • because it's accountable to the people. You need to reach for a future where no child

  • is made to be a soldier and no woman is exploited, and where the laws protect them even if they're

  • vulnerable, even if they're weak; a future where national security is strengthened by

  • a military that serves under civilians and a Constitution that guarantees that only those

  • who are elected by the people may govern.

  • On that journey, America will support you every step of the way -- by using our assistance

  • to empower civil society; by engaging your military to promote professionalism and human

  • rights; and by partnering with you as you connect your progress towards democracy with

  • economic development. So advancing that journey will help you pursue a second freedom -- the

  • belief that all people should be free from want.

  • It's not enough to trade a prison of powerlessness for the pain of an empty stomach. But history

  • shows that governments of the people and by the people and for the people are far more

  • powerful in delivering prosperity. And that's the partnership we seek with you.

  • When ordinary people have a say in their own future, then your land can’t just be taken

  • away from you. And that's why reforms must ensure that the people of this nation can

  • have that most fundamental of possessions -- the right to own the title to the land

  • on which you live and on which you work.

  • When your talents are unleashed, then opportunity will be created for all people. America is

  • lifting our ban on companies doing business here, and your government has lifted restrictions

  • on investment and taken steps to open up your economy. And now, as more wealth flows into

  • your borders, we hope and expect that it will lift up more people. It can't just help folks

  • at the top. It has to help everybody. And that kind of economic growth, where everybody

  • has opportunity -- if you work hard, you can succeed -- that's what gets a nation moving

  • rapidly when it comes to develop.

  • But that kind of growth can only be created if corruption is left behind. For investment

  • to lead to opportunity, reform must promote budgets that are transparent and industry

  • that is privately owned.

  • To lead by example, America now insists that our companies meet high standards of openness

  • and transparency if they're doing business here. And we'll work with organizations like

  • the World Bank to support small businesses and to promote an economy that allows entrepreneurs,

  • small businesspeople to thrive and allows workers to keep what they earn. And I very

  • much welcome your government’s recent decision to join what we've called our Open Government

  • Partnership, so that citizens can come to expect accountability and learn exactly how

  • monies are spent and how your system of government operates.

  • Above all, when your voices are heard in government, it's far more likely that your basic needs

  • will be met. And that’s why reform must reach the daily lives of those who are hungry

  • and those who are ill, and those who live without electricity or water. And here, too,

  • America will do our part in working with you.

  • Today, I was proud to reestablish our USAID mission in this country, which is our lead

  • development agency. And the United States wants to be a partner in helping this country,

  • which used to be the rice bowl of Asia, to reestablish its capacity to feed its people

  • and to care for its sick, and educate its children, and build its democratic institutions

  • as you continue down the path of reform.

  • This country is famous for its natural resources, and they must be protected against exploitation.

  • And let us remember that in a global economy, a country’s greatest resource is its people.

  • So by investing in you, this nation can open the door for far more prosperity -- because

  • unlocking a nation’s potential depends on empowering all its people, especially its

  • young people.

  • Just as education is the key to America’s future, it is going to the be the key to your

  • future as well. And so we look forward to working with you, as we have with many of

  • your neighbors, to extend that opportunity and to deepen exchanges among our students.

  • We want students from this country to travel to the United States and learn from us, and

  • we want U.S. students to come here and learn from you.

  • And this truth leads me to the third freedom that I want to discuss: the freedom to worship

  • -- the freedom to worship as you please, and your right to basic human dignity.

  • This country, like my own country, is blessed with diversity. Not everybody looks the same.

  • Not everybody comes from the same region. Not everybody worships in the same way. In

  • your cities and towns, there are pagodas and temples, and mosques and churches standing

  • side by side. Well over a hundred ethnic groups have been a part of your story. Yet within

  • these borders, weve seen some of the world’s longest running insurgencies, which have cost

  • countless lives, and torn families and communities apart, and stood in the way of development.

  • No process of reform will succeed without national reconciliation. (Applause.) You now

  • have a moment of remarkable opportunity to transform cease-fires into lasting settlements,

  • and to pursue peace where conflicts still linger, including in Kachin State. Those efforts

  • must lead to a more just and lasting peace, including humanitarian access to those in

  • need, and a chance for the displaced to return home.

  • Today, we look at the recent violence in Rakhine State that has caused so much suffering, and

  • we see the danger of continued tensions there. For too long, the people of this state, including

  • ethnic Rakhine, have faced crushing poverty and persecution. But there is no excuse for

  • violence against innocent people. And the Rohingya hold themselves -- hold within themselves

  • the same dignity as you do, and I do.

  • National reconciliation will take time, but for the sake of our common humanity, and for

  • the sake of this country’s future, it is necessary to stop incitement and to stop violence.

  • And I welcome the government’s commitment to address the issues of injustice and accountability,

  • and humanitarian access and citizenship. That’s a vision that the world will support as you

  • move forward.

  • Every nation struggles to define citizenship. America has had great debates about these

  • issues, and those debates continue to this day, because were a nation of immigrants

  • -- people coming from every different part of the world. But what weve learned in

  • the United States is that there are certain principles that are universal, apply to everybody

  • no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what religion you

  • practice. The right of people to live without the threat that their families may be harmed

  • or their homes may be burned simply because of who they are or where they come from.

  • Only the people of this country ultimately can define your union, can define what it

  • means to be a citizen of this country. But I have confidence that as you do that you

  • can draw on this diversity as a strength and not a weakness. Your country will be stronger

  • because of many different cultures, but you have to seize that opportunity. You have to

  • recognize that strength.

  • I say this because my own country and my own life have taught me the power of diversity.

  • The United States of America is a nation of Christians and Jews, and Muslims and Buddhists,

  • and Hindus and non-believers. Our story is shaped by every language; it’s enriched

  • by every culture. We have people from every corners of the world. Weve tasted the bitterness

  • of civil war and segregation, but our history shows us that hatred in the human heart can

  • recede; that the lines between races and tribes fade away. And what’s left is a simple truth:

  • e pluribus unum -- that’s what we say in America. Out of many, we are one nation and

  • we are one people. And that truth has, time and again, made our union stronger. It has

  • made our country stronger. It’s part of what has made America great.

  • We amended our Constitution to extend the democratic principles that we hold dear. And

  • I stand before you today as President of the most powerful nation on Earth, but recognizing

  • that once the color of my skin would have denied me the right to vote. And so that should

  • give you some sense that if our country can transcend its differences, then yours can,

  • too. Every human being within these borders is a part of your nation’s story, and you

  • should embrace that. That’s not a source of weakness, that’s a source of strength

  • -- if you recognize it.

  • And that brings me to the final freedom that I will discuss today, and that is the right

  • of all people to live free from fear.

  • In many ways, fear is the force that stands between human beings and their dreams. Fear

  • of conflict and the weapons of war. Fear of a future that is different from the past.

  • Fear of changes that are reordering our societies and economy. Fear of people who look different,

  • or come from a different place, or worship in a different way. In some of her darkest

  • moments, when Aung San Suu Kyi was imprisoned, she wrote an essay about freedom from fear.

  • She said fear of losing corrupts those who wield it -- “Fear of losing power corrupts

  • those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to

  • it.”

  • That's the fear that you can leave behind. We see that chance in leaders who are beginning

  • to understand that power comes from appealing to people’s hopes, not people's fears. We

  • see it in citizens who insist that this time must be different, that this time change will

  • come and will continue. As Aung San Suu Kyi wrote: “Fear is not the natural state of

  • civilized man.” I believe that. And today, you are showing the world that fear does not

  • have to be the natural state of life in this country.

  • That’s why I am here. That’s why I came to Rangoon. And that’s why what happens

  • here is so important -- not only to this region, but to the world. Because you're taking a

  • journey that has the potential to inspire so many people. This is a test of whether

  • a country can transition to a better place.

  • The United States of America is a Pacific nation, and we see our future as bound to

  • those nations and peoples to our West. And as our economy recovers, this is where we

  • believe we will find enormous growth. As we have ended the wars that have dominated our

  • foreign policy for a decade, this region will be a focus for our efforts to build a prosperous

  • peace.

  • Here in Southeast Asia, we see the potential for integration among nations and people.

  • And as President, I have embraced ASEAN for reasons that go beyond the fact that I spent

  • some of my childhood in this region, in Indonesia. Because with ASEAN, we see nations that are

  • on the move -- nations that are growing, and democracies that are emerging; governments

  • that are cooperating; progress that’s building on the diversity that spans oceans and islands

  • and jungles and cities, peoples of every race and every religion. This is what the 21st

  • century should look like if we have the courage to put aside our differences and move forward

  • with a sense of mutual interest and mutual respect.

  • And here in Rangoon, I want to send a message across Asia: We don’t need to be defined

  • by the prisons of the past. We need to look forward to the future. To the leadership of

  • North Korea, I have offered a choice: let go of your nuclear weapons and choose the

  • path of peace and progress. If you do, you will find an extended hand from the United

  • States of America.

  • In 2012, we don’t need to cling to the divisions of East, West and North and South. We welcome

  • the peaceful rise of China, your neighbor to the North; and India, your neighbor to

  • the West. The United Nations -- the United States will work with any nation, large or

  • small, that will contribute to a world that is more peaceful and more prosperous, and

  • more just and more free. And the United States will be a friend to any nation that respects

  • the rights of its citizens and the responsibilities of international law.

  • That's the nation, that's the world that you can start to build here in this historic city.

  • This nation that's been so isolated can show the world the power of a new beginning, and

  • demonstrate once again that the journey to democracy goes hand in hand with development.

  • I say this knowing that there are still countless people in this country who do not enjoy the

  • opportunities that many of you seated here do. There are tens of millions who have no

  • electricity. There are prisoners of conscience who still await release. There are refugees

  • and displaced peoples in camps where hope is still something that lies on the distant

  • horizon.

  • Today, I say to you -- and I say to everybody that can hear my voice -- that the United

  • States of America is with you, including those who have been forgotten, those who are dispossessed,

  • those who are ostracized, those who are poor. We carry your story in our heads and your

  • hopes in our hearts, because in this 21st century with the spread of technology and

  • the breaking down of barriers, the frontlines of freedom are within nations and individuals,

  • not simply between them.

  • As one former prisoner put it in speaking to his fellow citizens, “Politics is your

  • job. It’s not only for [the] politicians.” And we have an expression in the United States

  • that the most important office in a democracy is the office of citizen -- not President,

  • not Speaker, but citizen. (Applause.)

  • So as extraordinary and difficult and challenging and sometimes frustrating as this journey

  • may seem, in the end, you, the citizens of this country, are the ones who must define

  • what freedom means. You're the ones who are going to have to seize freedom, because a

  • true revolution of the spirit begins in each of our hearts. It requires the kind of courage

  • that so many of your leaders have already displayed.

  • The road ahead will be marked by huge challenges, and there will be those who resist the forces

  • of change. But I stand here with confidence that something is happening in this country

  • that cannot be reversed, and the will of the people can lift up this nation and set a great

  • example for the world. And you will have in the United States of America a partner on

  • that long journey. So, cezu tin bad de. (Applause.)

  • Thank you. (Applause.)

DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI: I would like to say how happy I am to receive President Obama

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