Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – US President Barack Obama criticised the elections in Burma today, stating that they would be “anything but free and fair”.

Obama, who was currently on a three-day visit to Delhi and Mumbai in India, described his host country as a “cornerstone” in America’s engagement with Asia.

US under secretary of state for political affairs William Burns told press on October 27: “Everything we’ve seen so far casts pretty serious doubts on whether this is going to be a free and fair election.  And we’ve made very clear the US position that you’re not going to have free and fair elections unless you have the some 2,100 political prisoners released in Burma, and that obviously includes Aung San Suu Kyi.”

Burns said America had an active dialogue with India on a range of regional issues including Burma, and “I think you’ll continue to see a strong emphasis from the president, from the United States, on human rights issues across Asia and the Pacific”.

US deputy national security advisor for strategic communication Ben Rhodes said that it was no coincidence that the president was visiting four Asian democracies.

“We want to underscore the success of democracy in Asia and around the world and we’re going to speak specifically to human rights and democracy-related issues in India and at every stop essentially of this trip” Rhodes said.

He also said that although the administration could not predict the outcome of the election, he was sure it would come up at some point in the trip. He said the US was still considering the appointment of a special co-ordinator for Burma, but as yet no progress had been made.