Angelina Jolie takes her human rights crusade to Burma

Home Top

The Wild West is back: Record drought unveils lost cowboy town that had been submerged under Nevada's Lake Mead since 1935
'The CIA abandoned me in the Afghan desert for being gay': Ex-Navy SEAL says he was bullied by cruel agents who changed his call sign to 'Gay Gay'
REVEALED: Boy, 11, who strangled and killed toddler had a troubled history which included lighting his crib on fire at the age of three and digging up dead animals
Revealed: MORE young adults are living with their parents, with one in three failing to move out despite wage increases and strong job market
Has MH370 finally been found? Air safety investigators have 'high degree of confidence' that debris found in Indian Ocean 3,500 miles from doomed flight's last known location belongs to a Boeing 777
So what really happened to MH370? The SEVEN leading theories of what happened to the missing jet as investigators come tantalisingly close to answers
Swirling currents, cyclonic weather and an air-filled fuselage: How a piece of debris from flight MH370 could have turned up a year later and 6,000km away from where the plane was thought to have crashed
Agonizing last hours of an exhausted and horrifically maimed lion king and one man's deadly vanity that led to its trophy killing
'Are you trying to send a mob?' Mia Farrow accused of irresponsible behavior after posting address of dentist who killed Cecil the lion to Twitter
Dentist who killed Cecil the lion was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee at his practice and settled out of court for $127,500
Another lion killer was director of Bank of England: As world reviles US game hunter, picture that shames a Tory donor and ex-BBC governor
Is this what's in store for Cecil? Inside the Namibian taxidermy factory which stuffs more than 6,000 animals a year for trophy hunters
Ted Nugent hits out at 'stupid' Cecil the lion protesters, saying hunting of Africa's favorite big cat was 'legal & ESSENTIAL'
EXCLUSIVE: Three members of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at UVA who claim they were targeted in false Rolling Stone 'rape' article file defamation lawsuit
Fifth black woman in a month found dead in jail: New York mother accused of stealing crab legs died in cell while husband was waiting upstairs for her court appearance
Campus cop who shot unarmed black man dead is charged with murder - after chilling bodycam video exposed his lies about traffic stop
New York man, 44, arrested for allegedly trying to join ISIS
Wrongly arrested Ferguson prisoner wins appeal to sue cops who beat him and then charged him for BLEEDING on them
'She responded to someone paternal': Woody Allen reveals secret to his 23-year relationship with Mia Farrow's adopted daughter... which at first he thought was 'just a fling'
No woman over 20 should wear a bikini! Obsessing about your beach body? Janet Street-Porter says it's time to face reality
Are airport security checks a total waste of time? Tests show TSA 96% failure rate in spotting weapons
Father-of-two Law & Order director is charged with child sex abuse for sharing explicit video online of girls as young as SIX
'Rape doesn't make him a bad husband - it makes him a criminal': Woman who was told by judge to 'forgive' husband who drugged and raped her speaks out about her ordeal
$NEW YORK, 31/05/11\n************WORLD RIGHTS ONLY*******\nPICTURES BY: \nZZT-MISHA-TIM/EAGLEPRESS\nFEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR PUBLICATION\nNO WEB USE WITHOUT PRIOR AGREEMENT\nPLEASE CREDIT ALL USES\n----------------------------------\nSARAH PALIN STOPPED BY DONALD TRUMP'S UPPER WEST SIDE CONDO BEFORE GOING OUT FOR DINNER WITH THE REALITY TV REAL ESTATE MAGNATE AND HIS FAMILY. PALIN'S YOUNGEST DAUGHTER, PIPER, WAS THERE AS WELL. PALIN WAS JOINED BY HER PARENTS, AS WELL AS TRUMP'S WIFE MELANIA\n----------------------------------\nCONTACT: WWW.EAGLEPRESS.US\nKATE +1 917 7100219\nkate@eaglepress.us\nphotos@eaglepress.us\nINFO +1 917 7100494$ 'She's really a special person': Donald Trump says he would give Sarah Palin a cabinet job because she's 'tough and smart'

Angelina Jolie Pitt arrived in Burma straight from Cambodia this morning
It has a horrific human rights record and brutally oppresses opposition
Personally invited by former political prisoner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
She hopes to shine a light on human rights, sexual violence and democracy

Published: 10:51 EST, 29 July 2015 | Updated: 02:52 EST, 30 July 2015

View
comments

Angelina Jolie today met the President of Burma as part of a trip to meet high-ranking officials and the victims of a country with a poor human rights record and a history of political unrest.

It's her first visit to the country and is part of a tour of south east Asia in her role as a UN special envoy, promoting human rights, and as part of work to counter sexual violence worldwide.

She was personally invited to the troubled country by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition in the dictatorship, who was put under house arrest by the Government for a total of 15 years. Jolie visit her during the trip.

Scroll down for video

Rare meeting: Un Envoy Angelina Jolie shakes hands with the president of Myanmar, Thein Sein, at the presidential palace earlier today. She hopes to shine a light on human rights abuses and sexual violence

Angelina Jolie leaving the Burma Parliament building following a meeting with Speaker of the lower house, the Burmese House of Representatives, Mr Thura Shwe Mann

Angelina said: 'I am looking forward to meeting with many people including women’s groups, civil society, displaced people and youth, to learn firsthand from them about their concerns and hopes for the future of their country.

'With elections on the horizon in November it is an important moment for people to exercise their democratic rights and help to address the fundamental issues critical to a peaceful future.'

This morning she arrived in the country, also known as Myanmar, and met President Thein Sein and high-ranking members of the military government at the presidential palace.

Sources close to Mrs Jolie Pitt said she used the opportunity to talk about prominent issues in the country, including sexual violence, a lack of transparency and child soldiers.

But she will also be visiting members of the political opposition and will carry out field visits to displaced people in Myanmar’s conflict-affected states.

The source, who has been travelling with the UK special envoy party, said that Burma is one of 130 nations that signed up to an agreement to address sexual violence as part of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.

Yet it has taken no concrete steps to address the issue and lags behind countries such as Somalia, the Central African Republic and Kosovo, who admit to having problems but are making better progress.

The source says addressing sexual violence is high on her agenda, as she is dedicated to stamping out the use of 'sex as a weapon' in conflicts.

Between now and Saturday, when she leaves Burma, Mrs Jolie Pitt will also visit members of the political opposition, who have been severely oppressed over the years, and refugees.

She will meet local people who are working on human rights and inter-faith relations, and groups carrying out projects to promote women’s rights, voter education and participation ahead of the forthcoming elections.

Angelina Jolie meets the President of Burma during Asia trip

Arrival: As well as high-ranking members of government, she will also be visiting members of the political opposition and will carry out field visits to displaced people in Myanmar’s conflict-affected states

Busy trip: She will also be visiting members of the political opposition and will carry out field visits to displaced people in Myanmar’s conflict-affected states

Human Rights Watch says that the President's Cambodian People's Party has made often violent attempts to silence political opposition and has a history of taking political prisoners.

The Government controls the judiciary which means people have no legal recourse to the oppression, according to Human Rights Watch, and protest has been made illegal.

But it is hoped that Mrs Jolie Pitt's unique status as a non-Government party will help 'shine a light' on the country's problems in a way other organisation's can't.

The source said: 'She will be telling senior figures that they have similar interests, and if they truly want to become a democratic country, the onus is on them to address these problems.

'It is an amazing opportunity to get into Myanmar which not everyone gets so Angelina will be using it to meet as many different groups as she can and try and open a dialogue on these issues.'

Angelina Jolie Pitt has been following the situation in Myanmar closely since her first visit to Myanmar refugees in Thailand in 2002, and many subsequent visits to the region to focus on these issues.

She arrived in Burma from Cambodia, where she was visiting health, education and conservation projects funded by the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation since 2003.

She was beginning preparations to direct the film First They Killed My Father based on a child’s experience of the years of turmoil in the country.

Angelina and husband Brad Pitt adopted their son, Maddox, in 2003. He is originally from Cambodia.

During her visit to the country, she reportedly told reporters Maddox is her son but also 'a son of Cambodia'.