Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Myanmar Wednesday on the first top-level US visit for half a century, seeking to encourage a “movement for change” in the military-dominated nation. Clinton and her entourage flew into a little-used airport in Naypyidaw, the remote city where Myanmar’s generals abruptly moved their capital in 2005, in a stark test of US efforts to engage the strategic but long-isolated country. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has surprised observers with a series of reformist moves in the past year including releasing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and nominally ending decades of military rule. President Barack Obama spoke of “flickers” of hope when he personally announced Clinton’s trip during a recent visit to Asia. But his administration has sought to keep expectations low, mindful of other false dawns in a country where the generals have ruled with an iron fist since 1962.
