Canadian Friends of Burma notices Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna Mg Lwin's low profile visit to Canada --

--- On Thu, 10/25/12, CFOB wrote: From: CFOB Subject: Postmedia: Quiet welcome for Burmese foreign minister gets noticed To: cfob@cfob.org Date: Thursday, October 25, 2012, 5:18 PM Quiet welcome for Burmese foreign minister gets noticed Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia - OCTOBER 24, 2012 OTTAWA — The Conservative government has been accused of trying to hide the visit earlier this month of Burma ’s foreign affairs minister. The Conservative government has made a big deal of highlighting Canada ’s re-engagement with Burma after years of frozen relations caused by the Southeast Asian nation’s poor record on human rights and democracy. The government has pledged to open a new embassy in Burma , which is also known as Myanmar , while Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and International Trade Minister Ed Fast have made separate visits. Not by coincidence, Canadian companies in the oil, gas and mining sectors have made noises they are very interested in breaking into the market, which is already rife with similar firms from the U.S. , Europe and Asia .] This has prompted concerns business interests will supercede human rights and democratic progress, which are still in a tenuous situation despite recent improvements. From Oct. 2-4, Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna Maung’s visited Ottawa — the first by a Burmese foreign minister since 1969 — as part of what appears to be a round-the-world tour to reach out to partners and put a nail in his country’s international isolation. But neither Foreign Affairs nor the government went out of their way to call attention to the visit — prompting a strong reaction from one pro-democracy Burmese group in Canada . The Canadian Friends of Burma, which has been the most outspoken voice on democracy in Burma over the years, said it only learned of Maung’s visit through the Asian nation’s state-run media. In a statement, the group said “it is unnecessary — possibly unprecedented — for the Government of Canada to keep such a ministerial visit secret.” “Therefore, we urge the Government of Canada, especially foreign affairs officials, to be more transparent on policymaking in Burma .” A Conservative official dismissed the concerns, noting a photo of Maung and Baird was posted to the Foreign Affairs website, the official noted, while the Burmese foreign minister was recognized in the House of Commons gallery after Question Period. “Anyone who follows Burma ’s political development would have known the foreign minister was visiting,” the official said. “So it was hardly secret.” http://o.canada.com/2012/10/24/feds-quiet-welcome-for-burmese-foreign-minister-gets-noticed/