Myanmar president cancels Thailand visit

Paramilitary guards and security personnel look on as Myanmar's new civilian president, Thein Sein, disembarks from his plane. Photo: David Gray / Reuters

Paramilitary guards and security personnel look on as Myanmar's new civilian president, Thein Sein, disembarks from his plane. Photo: David Gray / Reuters

Published Jun 1, 2012

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YANGON – Myanmar President Thein Sein has postponed next week's two-day visit to Thailand, both countries said on Friday, just days after he decided against attending the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Bangkok.

Thein Sein's office said on its website that a new date would be fixed at a more convenient time. It gave no explanation for postponements of both the June 4-5 and May 31-June 1 visits.

The former junta general, who has been lauded by the international community for introducing unprecedented reforms since coming to power last year, was due to give a speech at the economic forum, which opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi attended.

Suu Kyi's visit, which received widespread media coverage, was her first trip outside Myanmar in 24 years, 15 of which were spent in detention under the junta. – Reuters

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