The recent visit of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Myanmar is a positive step, but one which needs to be placed in the overall context of the role the military plays in ruling the South Asian nation.
While conditions there are not as seemingly repressive as they once were, the ruling military junta is trying to soften its image on the world stage.
The negative aspect of Clinton's three-day trip is that it may be seen to add legitimacy to a regime so desperately seeking international elevation after years of brutal suppression of its peoples' basic human rights.
While the junta has allowed an elected parliament to sit, the reality is that the legitimate opposition of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had been prevented from running. And the junta has rigorously ignored previous elections which gave the Nobel Peace laureate victory.
Carefully, the junta is loosening its grip on power — it has, for example, approved a new law allowing citizens to request permission to stage peaceful protests for the first time. There is a vast gulf, however, between asking for permission to stage a demonstration, and actively allowing one.
Small first steps, but Myanmar has a long way to go.
