Obama feted on historic Myanmar visit

Obama's motorcade passed tens of thousands of supporters – some chanting "America" – lining Yangon streets.

YANGON: Huge crowds greeted Barack Obama in Myanmar Monday on the first visit by a serving US president to the former pariah state, a high-stakes trip aimed at encouraging "flickers" of democratic progress.

In once unthinkable scenes, Obama's motorcade passed tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters – some chanting "America" – lining the streets of Yangon, the backdrop for several bloody crackdowns on pro-democracy uprisings.

After a red-carpet welcome for Air Force One, Obama met Myanmar's reformist President Thein Sein, hoping to embolden the former general to deepen the country's march out of decades of iron-fisted military rule.

"We think that a process of democratic reform and economic reform here in Myanmar that has been begun by the president is one that can lead to incredible development opportunities here," he said as Thein Sein listened.

Alumni toast Obama speech at Myanmar campus

For prominent comedian and former political prisoner Zarganar, the US president's visit to Yangon University marked nothing less than a "rebirth" of an institution whose history is entwined with the nation's struggle for freedom.

Speaking on Monday, Obama raised hopes the university will emerge from the doldrums, in an impassioned address aimed at bolstering Myanmar's rapid, but fragile, reform process.

Paying tribute to its extraordinary role in Myanmar's gradual emergence from decades of military rule, Obama name checked former students including the nation's independence hero Aung San - whose daughter Suu Kyi sat in the front row with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

With US and Myanmar flags adorning a bamboo screen behind him, he told a rapt audience of students, pro-democracy leaders, lawmakers and other dignitaries that "you can taste freedom" but called for reforms to be deepened.

The White House hopes Obama's visit to Myanmar will boost Thein Sein's reform drive, which saw Aung San Suu Kyi enter parliament after her rivals in the junta made way for a nominally civilian government.

The trip is seen as a political coup for Obama – albeit one with risks – and a major boost for Thein Sein, who has faced resistance from hardliners within his regime to the rapid political changes.

Obama has stressed his visit is not an "endorsement" of the regime but "an acknowledgement" of the reform process.

In his one-hour meeting with Obama, Thein Sein recognised "disappointments and obstacles" in relations with Washington over the past two decades, but stressed his commitment to improving ties.

Some human rights groups said Obama should have waited longer to visit, arguing that he could have dangled the prospect of a trip as leverage to seek more progress such as the release of scores of remaining political prisoners.

In an effort to burnish its reform credentials, Myanmar unveiled a raft of new pledges on human rights ahead of the visit, vowing to review prisoner cases in line with "international standards" and open its jails to the Red Cross.

The United States on Friday scrapped a nearly decade-old ban on most imports from the country, after earlier lifting other sanctions, and officials said Obama would announce a $170 million development aid pledge during his visit.

His trip to Asia, coming less than a fortnight after his re-election, is the latest manifestation of his determination to anchor the United States in a dynamic, fast-emerging region he sees as vital to its future.

Obama fever has swept Myanmar's biggest city Yangon, with the president's image emblazoned on T-shirts, mugs and even graffiti-covered walls.

"America is a powerful country. Obama's visit will bring change to our nation," said 19-year-old law student Kaung San.

Later on Monday Obama will fly to Cambodia for a likely tense encounter over human rights with Prime Minister Hun Sen, ahead of the East Asia Summit, the main institutional focus of his pivot of US foreign policy to the region.