奧巴馬有信心看到緬甸開啓“新時代”

U.S. President Barack Obama says he is confident of a "new day" in Myanmar, but says there is work yet to be done to reform the Southeast Asian country.

President Obama made his comments Thursday during a meeting with top leaders, including President Thein Sein and longtime democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi.

Mr. Obama is in the middle of a two-day visit to Myanmar, also known as Burma, which is emerging from decades of authoritarian military rule.

White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes says Mr. Obama plans to raise concerns over the pace of political reforms and human rights during a one-on-one meeting Thursday with President Thein Sein.

A nominally civilian government took power in 2011, ending direct military rule but exposing deep-seated problems, including the treatment of the country's ethnic minorities.

Rhodes says Mr. Obama also will bring up the issue of the Rohingya, a mostly Muslim group that is denied citizenship and faces a wide range of other restrictions.

Mr. Obama on Friday will travel to Yangon, where he will meet separately with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition lawmaker.

The visit is taking place during a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

It is the first time that Myanmar has hosted the annual summit.

In remarks to the summit Thursday, Mr. Obama said he is looking forward to building on what he said is a strong partnership between the U.S. and ASEAN.美國總統奧巴馬說，他有信心看到緬甸開啓“新時代”。但是，他表示這個東南亞國家還需要進一步改革。

奧巴馬是在星期四與緬甸總統吳登盛和長期致力於緬甸民主運動的昂山素季會面時作出上述評論的。

奧巴馬正在對緬甸進行爲期兩天的訪問。緬甸2011年結束了長達數十年的軍事獨裁統治。

白宮國家安全事務副顧問羅茲說，奧巴馬打算在星期四與緬甸總統吳登盛會晤時表達對緬甸政治改革步伐和人權問題的憂慮。

一個名義上的緬甸文官政府於2011年開始執政，結束了50年的軍方直接統治，但仍暴露了一些根深蒂固的問題，包括緬甸少數民族的待遇。

羅茲說，奧巴馬還將提及羅興亞穆斯林族裔的問題，該族裔成員得不到公民身份，在其他很多方面也受到限制。

奧巴馬星期五將前往仰光,單獨會晤諾貝爾和平獎得主、緬甸反對派議員昂山素季。

這是緬甸首次擔任東盟年度峯會的東道國。

奧巴馬星期四在談到東盟峯會時表示，他期待美國與東盟建立牢固的夥伴關係。