Hilary Clinton concludes historic visit to Myanmar

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is concluding an historic visit to Myanmar - also known as Burma - on Friday. In meetings with government leaders, Clinton said the nation’s new civilian government must expand recent reforms, including the release of political prisoners, to improve relations as it emerges from more than a half-century of repressive military rule. Clinton also said the country's leaders must end violent campaigns against ethnic minorities and break military ties with North Korea

Clinton also met with pro-democracy leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi. Her meeting with the Nobel peace prize laureate underscored the U.S. challenge to Myanmar's leaders on her visit.

Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK, said “I think that Hilary Clinton will have been delivering a very clear message that while they welcome the steps that have taken place so far, they must go much further.”

He said the government has taken steps towards democracy, but they are not enough. “It seems so far they have made a few small changes, they’ve released a small number of political prisoners, they’ve been trying to get the maximum benefit for the smallest concessions. And they will now have a very clear understanding from a very senior U.S. government official that they’ve got to make much deeper and concrete changes if they want to see sanctions lifted.”

Listen to the full interview of Mark Farmaner with Christopher Wells: