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The West needs to give Myanmar more time, says Cardinal Bo

Southeast Asian nation was ruled by the military for decades, West can't expect overnight solutions
The West needs to give Myanmar more time, says Cardinal Bo
Published: August 22, 2016 10:08 AM GMT
Updated: August 22, 2016 10:14 AM GMT

The West needs to have more patience with Myanmar's reform process, says the country’s first cardinal during a visit to Canada.

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon told Canadian news site The Observer that the West needs to be patient with Myanmar.

"Sometimes, the West pushes too much" and seeks "overnight solutions," Cardinal Bo said Aug. 15.

Myanmar’s leaders, he said, are "trying their best" to resolve issues that the country faces.

"Myanmar are been under a military regime for almost half a century, so to repair all those things can't happen within two or three months," Cardinal Bo said.

"We'll need some more time," he said.

"Canada has been very supportive of the progress in Myanmar," he said. "I would like to request they continue assisting Myanmar."

An impoverished Myanmar transitioned to become a hybrid-civilian government in 2011, ending more than 50 years of military rule. Democracy-icon Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory in last November's election and was sworn in to head the government March 31.

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