YANGON, Myanmar – Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the home of Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday for a meeting that was both personal and formal as two of the world’s most famous female political figures discussed the sudden signs of reform in Myanmar.
The meeting between the U.S. secretary of state and the leader of Myanmar’s long-persecuted democracy movement — unthinkable just three months ago — was yet another sign of the incredible change afoot in Myanmar.
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“If we go forward together, I’m confident there will be no turning back from the road to democracy,” Suu Kyi told reporters at a news conference afterward, a rare occurrence for the Nobel Peace laureate who has spent much of the past two decades under house arrest ordered by Myanmar’s military-controlled government. “We are not on that road yet, but we hope to get there as soon as possible with our friends.”
Both Clinton and Suu Kyi said more progress needed to be made by Myanmar’s President Thein Sein and his government for true reform to take hold. And Suu Kyi emphasized the need for rule of law, calling on the government not only to release all remaining political prisoners but also to change its policies to prevent human rights violations in the future.
Clinton — the first senior U.S. official in half a century to visit Myanmar, also known as Burma — called Suu Kyi “an inspiration.” The pair had met for a private dinner the night before. On Friday, they demonstrated an obvious closeness through their statements and body language, greeting each other with a kiss on the cheek, holding hands at one point in the news conference and hesitating awkwardly at the end before bursting into laughter as they hugged each other goodbye.
The meeting took place at the home that Suu Kyi’s family has long owned — a compound where she spent years under house arrest. Suu Kyi introduced Clinton to the doctor who took care of her during that time, to her chefs and even to her guard dog, for whom Clinton had brought a chew toy gift.
“Chew away, chew away,” Clinton told the dog.
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