Naypyitaw: Myanmar’s reformist president held his first press conference for local media in a national milestone after years of secrecy and censorship by the former military regime.
Thein Sein didn’t break any stunning news when he answered about 30 questions from local press and foreign correspondents on subjects ranging from fighting with ethnic rebels in the north to amending the country’s military-fashioned constitution.
His mere appearance, however, told the story about his country’s turn from secrecy and paranoia to relative openness. Yesterday’s news conference in the capital, Naypyitaw, ran 20 minutes past its scheduled 2-hour length.
The 67-year-old ex-general, who had been prime minister under the ruling junta, looked tense as he started answering questions but soon relaxed enough to reveal a little-known sense of humor.
Explaining why he was holding the pioneering press conference, he told of being interviewed many times during his recent visit to the United States and said he had the hardest time answering questions on the inquisitorial BBC program, “Hardtalk.”
After surviving that experience, he said, he’s no longer afraid of meeting with the media. But he added that he feared he would also be criticized by Myanmar’s media if he didn’t come out to talk at home after giving so many interviews abroad.
Thein Sein avoided revealing too much, speaking only in general terms even about critical matters such as the fighting in Kachin state, which reflects a deeper, long-running problem of how much autonomy to give the large ethnic minorities living in border regions.
He was also asked whether he plans to contest the 2015 election for a second presidential term. He replied that he has been thinking only of his current term. (AP)