Myanmar stalked by ethnic strife in NY | Bangkok Post: opinion

EDITORIAL

It is understandable that Mrs Suu Kyi is adjusting her style as she makes the transition from political prisoner to opposition leader in parliament, but it would be out of character for her to keep a low profile on this important issue for long

Not so many months ago a meeting between Myanmar's head of state and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi anywhere outside the Yangon home where she was kept under house arrest for almost 15 years would have been big news. The fact that such a meeting took place last week in New York City, where Thein Sein addressed the United Nations General Assembly and Mrs Suu Kyi was visiting as part of a 17-day tour of the US, is dramatic proof of how far Myanmar has come in such a short time. President Thein Sein was given a warm welcome for his government's reform agenda, and in his speech to the assembled national leaders he was effusive in his praise of Mrs Suu Kyi, who more than anyone else is responsible for putting Myanmar on the road to democratisation.

But while both Thein Sein and Mrs Suu Kyi were given well-deserved accolades for their roles in making it possible for Myanmar to rejoin the world community after so many years of isolation, their visits to the US have also been marked by tough questions. The ''new'' Myanmar faces many obstacles, none greater than resolving the country's longstanding ethnic tensions.