President Obama:
Hello, everybody! Audience: Hi! President Obama: Myanmar
Luu Ngae Myar Min Galarbar! (applause) It's wonderful
to be back in Myanmar. Everybody, please
have a seat. Have a seat. Oh, we got some signs
-- "Reform is fake." "Change..." -- okay, well, you guys
will have a chance to ask questions later. Yeah, you can
put them away. That's why we're here
-- for a town hall. See, that's the thing,
when you have a town hall, you don't have a
protest because you can just ask the
questions directly. Two years ago, I was the
first American President to visit this country,
and I was deeply moved by the generous
hospitality that greeted us here, and the
sight of children waving the flags of
both of our nations. And I was inspired by the
incredible diversity and culture, and the
various religious sites from different faiths
and communities. And I was inspired
again today, when I had the opportunity to
visit the Secretariat -- the birthplace
of modern Burma; the blueprint for democracy;
a home to Burmese, Chinese, Indians,
Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, and Christians who lived
together peacefully -- an incredible example of
multicultural and multi-faith diversity and tolerance. And it's a profound symbol of
this country's rich diversity and this region's potential. Whenever I travel the world,
from Europe to Africa, South America to Southeast
Asia, one of the things I most enjoy doing
is meeting young men and women like you. It's more fun than being
in a conference room. And it's also more
important -- because you are the young leaders
who will determine the future of this
country and this region. So I'm going to keep my
remarks short at the top, because I want to take
as many questions and comments from you. As President of
the United States, I've made it a priority
to deepen America's ties with Southeast Asia
-- in particular, with the young people
of Southeast Asia. And I do this for
reasons that go beyond the fact that I spent
some of my childhood in Southeast Asia,
in Indonesia. And that gives me a
special attachment, a special feeling
for Southeast Asia and this region. But I do it mainly because
the 10 nations of ASEAN are home to about one in ten
of the world's citizens. About two-thirds of
Southeast Asia's population is under 35 years old. So this region -- a region
of growing economies and emerging democracies,
and a vibrant diversity that includes oceans and
islands, and jungles and cities, and peoples
of different races and religions and
beliefs -- this region will shape the
21st century. And that's why I launched the
Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative -- to deepen
America's engagement with the next generation
of leaders in government and civil society,
in education and in entrepreneurship. And more than 10,000 young
leaders like you have joined this Young Southeast Asian
Leaders Initiative network, working to solve the
challenges and seize the opportunities of
this dynamic region in a spirit of mutual
cooperation and respect. So earlier this
year, I held a town hall just like
this one, in Malaysia. And today, I'd like to
take our next steps together with you. When I took office
nearly six years ago, I said the United States
would extend our hand to any nation willing
to unclench its fist. And here, after decades
of authoritarian rule, we've begun to see
significant progress in just a few years. There is more of a sense
of hope in Myanmar, that was once so
closed to the world, about the role that it can
now play in the region and in the world. But we know that a journey
to progress is not completed overnight. There are setbacks
and false starts, and sometimes even reverses. And that was true in America
during our 238-year history. It's happened here in the
past two or three years. We've seen some
progress, and we should acknowledge that progress. We also know, though, that
despite the fact that political prisoners have been released
and people are more engaged in political dialogue,
there's a parliament and civil society is
emerging -- despite all that, some reforms have
not come quickly enough. There are still attacks
against journalists and against ethnic
minorities. America is still deeply
concerned about the humanitarian situation in Rakhine
state, and the treatment of minorities who endure
discrimination and abuse. On this visit, I've
met separately with President Thein Sein and Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as members of parliament,
and civil society leaders. And we discussed key reforms
that have to be made to ensure that human rights
and freedoms are respected, and the people of this
country can reach for their rightful place in the
region and the world. And I was also proud to announce
that the Peace Corps will come here, to Myanmar, to deepen
the ties between our people. It gives an extraordinary
opportunity for young Americans to interact with young
people here in Myanmar. And that people-to-people
exchange is often as important or
more important as government-to-government
exchanges. So progress is
not inevitable. History does not
always march forward. History can travel sideways
and sometimes backwards. Building trust after years
of conflict takes time. Being able to look past the
scars of violence takes courage. Securing the gains of freedom
and democracy requires good faith and strength of will,
and tolerance and respect for diversity, and it
requires vigilance from all citizens. The American people know well
that rights and freedoms are not given; they have to
be won through struggle and through discipline, and
persistence and faith. And it's often young people
who have led these struggles; who have compelled us to
slowly but surely perfect our own union in
America over time. Now, I understand
there's a Burmese saying. I've got to make sure
that I say this right. Ngote mi thè
daing -- help me out. Is that right? -- tet naing hpyar yauk. (applause) So for those Americans
who don't speak Burmese as well
as I do -- (laughter) -- that means, "Dive
until you reach the sand, climb until
you reach the top. Keep persevering." And America is
committed to helping the young people of
this nation and this region climb
until you reach the top. We believe in this nation. That's why I've come and visited
twice in the last few years, because we see a future where
democratic institutions can be accountable and responsive;
where political activists are free; where elections
are fair; where journalists can pursue the truth;
where ethnic minorities can live without fear. So we're betting
on this country, but we're also betting
on this region, because we see young
people of different nations and religions and
ethnicities who are eager to come together and
address all the challenges that are out there:
environmental protection; human rights; improving
education; combating poverty; advocating for a greater
role for women in business, in government and in
society; increasing
resilience in the face of natural
disasters; spurring economic progress so more
young people can follow in your footsteps
and get a good education and have
opportunity. We see young leaders who
embrace the diversity of this region not as a
weakness, but as a strength, and who realize that even
though we are all individually different and come from
different traditions and different communities,
we're stronger when we work together. So the future of this
region, your region, is not going to be determined
by dictators or by armies, it's going to be determined by
entrepreneurs and inventors and dreamers and people who are
doing things in the community. And you're going to be the
leaders who make that happen. Your generation has
greater potential to shape society than any generation that's come before because you have the power to get knowledge from everywhere, and you
have more sophistication and experiences than your parents or your grandparents. And you have now the
chance to share knowledge and experiences with
other young people all across this region
and around the world. And that wasn't true 20
years ago or 50 years ago. La Min Oo uses his power
to tell the story of his fellow Burmese. He studied at
Gettysburg College in the United States. The transformation that
he watched unfold through Facebook inspired him to
return home and make an award-winning documentary
about the plight of Burmese farmers. And he says, "My country
has been closed so long, there are a lot of
stories to be told." So you young people have
the chance to say -- to tell those stories. You have the power to improve
institutions that are very important for democratic
governance, like civil society, and an impartial judicial,
and a free press, and private enterprise. And there's so
much to build here. In countries like this,
it's critical that you get involved in that way. I'll give you an example. Ryan Louis Madrid dreamt
of being a journalist. But as he stood surrounded by
the wreckage of a typhoon in his beloved Philippines,
he made himself into an instrument for his fellow
citizens rebuilding. Today the organization he
co-founded puts solar rooftops in developing and
recovering communities. And he wants to use his skills
to encourage other enterprising young people in developing
countries to say in their countries and help
their own people, to think globally
and act locally. You have the power to remind
us all that human dignity is not just a
universal aspiration, but a human right. So Wai Wai Nu spent
seven years of her youth behind bars as
a political prisoner. And she called it her
"university about life." Today she uses that
hard-earned degree to advocate for tolerance and acceptance, saying, "We too sacrificed many things for the same cause,
that that is democracy." You have the chance to
overcome hatred and make sure that freedom rather than repression, hope rather than fear is governing
your country. You have the power to
set your own countries on a new and
different path. And in all of this, America
wants to be your partner. We want to help any way
that we can to help you shape your future. We want you to have the
tools and the connections and the resources that you
need to change the world. So one way that we can do this,
I'm announcing a significant expansion of the Young Southeast
Asian Leaders Initiative Fellowship, an exchange
program that will bring 500 Southeast Asian leaders
to the United States every year. And these fellows will have
the chance to strengthen their professional leadership skills,
network with one another, share experiences and ideas,
and then come back home better prepared to lead your
region and change the world. So some of these fellows
will benefit from five-week instruction at some of the best
universities in America on issues like entrepreneurship
and environmental stewardship and civil
society and human rights. Others will have the chance
to work in professional fellowships at state and
local governments and NGOs across the United States. And, by the way, through
this program that I hope some of you will be able
to take advantage of, when you spend time in
the United States our people learn from you. So it's not just you
learning from us. And when these fellows then
return home with these new ideas and new experiences,
our embassies and USAID missions will reach out
and offer the support and resources to help make
your dreams a reality. So today I'm proud to
announce that America will convene a young Southeast Asian
Leaders Initiative Summit in this region every year, giving fellows the chance to share their successes with each other and strengthen their network to
accomplish even more. So I hope some of you will
take advantage of this. I expect many of you will take
up the mantle of reform from student activists like Aung
San Suu Kyi and Min Ko Naing; take your rightful place
as leaders in a stable and prosperous and
progressive Southeast Asia. And as you do, I promise you
will have no better friend and partner than the United
States of America. So thank you very much. Kyeizu tin ba de. I now want to take
your questions. (applause) And I hope you
don't mind, because it's a little
warm in Myanmar, I'm going to take
off my jacket. (laughter) Okay, so there should be --
I've got a microphone, and there should be
mics in the audience. And I'll take as
many questions as I can before I have
to go to Australia. All right, who
wants to go first? This young man right here. The Press: I'm (inaudible)
I'm a third-year student, majoring in English at Sittwe
University, Rakhine state, or as you would
say, Rakhine state. President Obama: I'm still
working on my pronunciation. (laughter) The Press: I've
experienced some sectarian and racial balance
firsthand in my region. So the question I would like
to ask you to answer is: How can I be part of
educating my generation to promote tolerance and
respect cultural differences, and most of all,
eradicate extremism among different ethnic groups? President Obama: That's
a great question. Thank you so much. I had a chance to meet with
some civil society groups, and I had a press
conference earlier today. Yesterday, I had a chance to
meet with parliamentarians, including the speaker
-- the two speakers, as well as Aung San Suu
Kyi, and then spoke with the President. And to all of them, I said
this: There is no example of a country that is
successful if its people are divided based on
religion or ethnicity. If you look at the Middle East
right now and the chaos that's taking place in a
place like Syria, so much of that is based
on religious differences. Even though they're all
Muslim, Shia and Sunni are fighting each other. If you look in
Northern Ireland, then Catholics and Protestants
fought for decades and only now have
arrived at peace. So in this globalized
world where people of different faiths
and cultures and races are going to meet each
other inevitably -- because nobody just lives
in a village anymore; people are constantly getting
information from different places and new ideas
and meeting people who are different from them -- it is critical for
any country to abide by the basic principle
that all people are equal, all
people are deserving of respect, all people
are equal under the law, all people can participate in
the life of their country, all people should be
able to express their views without fear
of being repressed. And those attitudes start
with each of us individually. It's important that government
play a role in making sure that it applies laws
fairly, not arbitrarily, not on the basis of preferring
one group over another. But what's also true is that
each of us have to cultivate an attitude of tolerance
and mutual respect. And for young people, we
have to try to encourage each other to be
tolerant and respectful. So in the United States,
obviously one of the biggest problems historically
has been the issue of racial discrimination. And part of our efforts to
overcome racial discrimination involve passing laws like
the Civil Rights Law and the Voting Rights Law,
and that required marches and protests
and Dr. King. But part of the effort
was also people changing the hearts and minds,
and realizing that just because somebody doesn't
look like me doesn't mean that they're not
worthy of respect. And when you're growing
up and you saw a friend of yours call somebody
by a derogatory name, a rude name because they
were different, it's your job to say to that
person, actually, that's not the
right way to think. If you are Christian and
you have a friend who says I hate Muslims, then it's
up to you to say to that friend, you know what, I
don't believe in that; I think that's the
wrong attitude, I think we have to be respectful
of the Muslim population. If you're Buddhist and you say
-- you hear somebody in your group say I want to treat
a Hindu differently, it's your job to speak out. So the most important thing
I think is for you to, in whatever circle of
influence you have, speak out on behalf
of tolerance and diversity and respect. If you are quiet, then the
people who are intolerant, they'll own the stage and
they'll set the terms of the debate. And one of the things
that leadership requires is saying things even
when it's uncomfortable, even when it's unpopular
-- especially when it's unpopular. So I hope that as you
get more influence, you'll continue to speak out
on behalf of these values. All right, who's next? Okay, I'm going to go
-- now, the one thing I'm going to do is I'm
going to go boy, girl, boy, girl to make sure
that it's fair, because one thing I didn't
say in my initial speech is societies that are most
successful also treat their women and
girls with respect. Otherwise, they
won't be successful. (applause) The young lady in the
yellow, right there, who had her hand up. Okay, hold on so we
can get a microphone. The Press: I am (inaudible). I am Kachin and Burmese. I would like to ask
about the ASEAN affair. So my question is, there are
different political system and different level of
democratic freedom in ASEAN. Do you think those
differences will cause challenges to
ASEAN integration? And do you believe it is
the right time to push for ASEAN integration? Thank you. President Obama: Of the
10 countries in ASEAN, I just had a chance to meet
with all their leaders at the U.S.-ASEAN Summit. And the good news is that
ASEAN has become more ambitious over the last
several years in trying to promote integration, to
work together on issues like disaster relief
or public health or maritime security
or improved education. And I think it's inevitable
that integration is going to happen more and more. And my hope is that by
encouraging integration, that the countries who are
doing better on issues like democracy and
human rights have a positive influence
in bringing up those countries that don't
have such a good record. And we've actually I
think seen that happen. Listen, when I first
came into office, Myanmar was still very
much a dictatorship. And there was some
controversy about me participating in an
ASEAN Summit because there was still no
freedom in Myanmar. And I think that
President Thein Sein, because he was with leaders
like SBY of Indonesia -- (applause) -- see there, all
right, the Indonesians started cheering -- who
had traveled the path of democracy, I think
President Thein Sein began to see how more open
societies were becoming more successful, and I think
had a positive influence on -- I think his
participation in ASEAN had a positive
influence in providing an opening to begin the
process of transition here in Myanmar. But it's important I think
that even as we engage with countries that are less
open or less democratic, that we also continue to apply
constructive criticism where they fall backwards,
where they fall short. And sometimes
that's hard to do. I think a lot of the leaders of
ASEAN don't like to criticize each other because they think
that it's not respectful. And no country is
perfect, so they worry that if we criticize one
country then somebody will criticize us. But I think the goal
should be for all of us to try to improve
what we do on behalf of our people
every single day.
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00:26:02,961 --> 00:26:01,393
I'm very proud of
the United States. I believe that the United
States is a force for good around the world. But I wouldn't be a good
President if I don't listen to criticism of our
policies and stay open to what other countries
say about us. Sometimes I think those
criticisms are unfair. Sometimes I think people
like to complain about the United States because
we're doing too much. Sometimes they complain
because they're doing too little. Every problem around
the world, why isn't the United States doing
something about it. Sometimes there are
countries that don't take responsibility for
themselves and they want us to fix it. And then when we
do try to fix it, they say why are you
meddling in our affairs. Yes, it's kind of
frustrating sometimes. But the fact that we are
getting these criticisms means that we're
constantly thinking, okay, is this how we should
apply this policy? Are we doing the right
thing when we provide aid to a country, but the
country is still ruled by a small elite and
maybe it's not getting down to the people? Are we doing the right
thing when we engage in training a military to
become more professional, but maybe the military
is still engaging in repressive activity? If we're not open
to those criticisms, then we won't get
better, we won't improve. And I think all of us should
be interested in trying to get better, because
none of us are perfect and no country
is perfect. So I do think ASEAN has
an opportunity to play a very important role. But integration is
inevitable just because of the nature of
economies today. There's too much travel,
there's too much Internet, there are too many smartphones. When I was driving through here,
everybody had a smartphone. I saw a bunch of people --
they didn't have any shirt, but they had a smartphone. So what that means is -- and
most manufacturing today of various products, the
parts are made in, like, five different countries,
and then they become integrated in some fashion. And then they're sold
all around the world. So integration is going
to happen no matter what. The question is, do we
integrate at a high level that improves freedom and
improves opportunity, or are we integrating
at a low level, where there's less freedom
and less opportunity. And I believe integrating
at a high level, and I hope most members
of ASEAN do also. All right, it's
a guy's turn now. I don't want to
discriminate against the men. This gentleman
right here. Yes, with the mustache
and the beard. There you go. There's a microphone
coming right here. You can just stay
where you are. Careful. Hold on to her, so
she doesn't fall. The Press: Hello,
Mr. President Obama. My name is (inaudible)
and I am studying law. My question is, now we are in
the democratic transition, so our country is facing
so many challenges in every sector. So if you were the
President of Myanmar -- (laughter and applause) -- which sector
you will focus on first? And how you will make
our country develop? Thank you. (applause) President Obama:
Well, let me just say, you're always popular in
somebody else's country. (laughter) When you're in
your own country, everybody is complaining. I think you're
right, Myanmar has so many challenges. I think the most
important challenge right now is completing the
transition to democracy. And so my first focus
is I think the focus that many people have
already talked about. Number one, there needs to
be an election next year. It shouldn't be delayed. Number two, there should be
constitutional amendments that ensure a transition
over time to a fully civilian government. Number three, there
needs to be laws put in place to protect
freedom of the press, freedom of
expression, freedom to politically organize. And I think that if
that process is fixed and institutionalized
and made permanent, and you now have the
tools to deal with all the other challenges, and
I think that inevitably what would happen if you
had a genuine democracy in Myanmar is the
focus next would then be on providing
economic opportunity, because Myanmar is still
a very poor country. And what we know in
the 21st century is, is that the most
important tools for economic opportunity
are making sure that young people are getting
a good education. And my understanding is, is
that the education system in Myanmar is still
under-developed. I think all of you
represent the best of Myanmar's students. But my understanding is
there are many villages you go to where there's
really no schools, as a practical matter,
and many of the schools still teach just how to
memorize certain things rather than how to think
critically about problems. And every country at this
point, if it wants to succeed, needs to put in place free,
compulsory education for its young people --
because they just can't succeed unless they
have some basic skills. They have to be
able to read. They have to be able
to do mathematics. They have to have some
familiarity with computers. They have to be
able to understand basic principles
of science. If you don't have
those basic tools, then it's very hard
to find a decent job in today's economy. Now, because Myanmar is
still very agricultural, I think issues of land reform
and trying to increase productivity in the
agricultural sector is also a very immediate
and urgent problem. This is true not
just in Myanmar; this is true in many
relatively poor countries. In Africa, for example, we
initiated something called Feed the Future,
and the whole goal is to improve the
productivity of farmers. And farmers in many
poor countries, they still use the same
techniques that they used 200 years ago. They're still using
a buffalo or an ox, and still waiting
on the rains. And sometimes the
new techniques, they're not
necessarily expensive; it's just a matter of
applying them scientifically. And if you double yields
for a farm and double income for farmers in a
country like Myanmar, suddenly you have
increased wealth, which means that some people
now can start businesses. Maybe now somebody can
take some of the profits they made and invest in a
tractor, or they can start processing the rice that they produce so that
they can gain more value. Or they may be able to buy
a smartphone so they know what the prices are in
the market, and not get taken advantage of. So just small changes
are really important. Now, my understanding,
and I'm not expert, is that some of that will
also require some reforms in terms of land ownership
and leasing so that people can keep the products of
their labor, as opposed to just being
essentially what we call sharecroppers in the United
States, where you're working the land, but
you're giving it over to somebody else and
never getting ahead. So those are just two
examples of things that I think will happen
naturally if you've got a democratic
system in place. All right, it's a
young lady's turn. So this young lady in
the glasses right here. She's waving very hard,
so she must have an excellent question. The Press: Good morning. My name is (inaudible). President Obama: It's
afternoon, though. (laughter) Maybe you've been waiting
here since morning. (laughter) But now it's
the afternoon. The Press: But you
can call me Amy (ph). I want to ask
one question. My question is, now
we are working on IT, so America is already
doubled up in IT. So can you provide any
development center of IT and job
opportunity for youth? President Obama: Well,
I was just talking to the civil society groups,
and there was one person there who mentioned that Internet penetration in Myanmar is still
only about 9 percent, which means there's
enormous room for growth. The issue for IT in a
country like Myanmar is, first of all, setting up the
infrastructure -- whether it's wireless or other
methods -- so that people can start communicating. And once the
hardware is in place, then where the real
development happens is in the software. And that's where it's really
a matter of education, training, and developing
a homegrown capacity. And so what we'll do is
we'll work with both civil society groups, as
well as the government, to find opportunities
where we can promote the building of
the infrastructure that's required. But what's really
required is also making sure that young
people are trained. And part of what's going
to have to happen is, in the United States most
of the IT development happened through
the private sector. Government invested in research,
and so the idea of the Internet was developed with the
help of government funding. But what became then the
World Wide Web and then all the applications and
social media and all that was really developed
through the private sector. So part of what has to happen
once democracy is installed in Myanmar is then also looking at
how are you structuring laws to encourage innovation
and entrepreneurship. So, for example, one of
the debates that we're having in trade negotiations
with Asian countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the big trade initiative that we're
moving forward, is the need to protect
intellectual property. If you invent a better tractor,
then in the United States, you go to a patent
office and you register your patent. You show that this
is a new invention. And if anybody then wants to
produce this new tractor, they have to pay you
for using your idea. The same is true for
intellectual property. If you come up with
the idea of Facebook, then you need to be
able to get a benefit from this idea. And one of the problems
I think that you still have in many countries
in Southeast Asia and around the
world is weak intellectual property
protections, which means that if you're an
entrepreneur with a good idea, you don't
want to start your business here, because
next thing you know somebody steals your
idea and they just start their business. So you'd rather start the
idea in the United States where you know that it
will be protected. And then maybe you will
lease to other countries, but the jobs and
the opportunities will have been created
someplace else. So setting up
regulatory structures, protections for
intellectual property, all those things are
also going to be very important in order to get
a strong IT culture and an innovation
culture here in Myanmar and throughout
the region. Okay, it's a
man's turn. Let's see. I'm going to go with
this guy right here. Hold on a second. Now, you're not
going to read that whole thing, are you? (laughter) Because -- The Press: I read
you a question -- President Obama: I think
you have to summarize it quickly because
we don't want -- The Press: Yes, yes, just
want to give you a kind of sheet, cheat sheet. President Obama: Yes,
I'll take the sheet. (laughter) The Press: Okay. President Obama:
There you go. All right. The Press: I have
only one question. President Obama: There
are like -- there are 20 questions on here. (laughter) The Press: Just
want you to know -- President Obama: Why
don't you just ask me one of them? I'll read the rest. The Press: My question,
as you know -- may I know your opinion
about like how to create national identity, or
like Myanmar identity -- different, strong
identity in our country? President Obama: Yes. That's a great question. Yes, I was talking about this
with the civil society groups because we are very
supportive of the efforts to get a ceasefire and
a peace process with the ethnic groups that
have been engaged in armed conflict
for a long time. And we've already
talked about some of the problems that the
Muslim populations have faced in Rakhine state. But what I said to the civil
society groups is, yes, it is important to protect
specific ethnic groups from discrimination. And it is natural in
a democracy that ethnic groups organize
among themselves to be heard in the
halls of power. So in the United
States, for example, as its democracy developed,
the Irish in big cities, they came together and
they built organizations, and they were able to
promote the interests of Irish Americans. And African Americans, when
they were seeking their freedom, you had
organizations like the NAACP that promoted the interests
of African Americans. So there's nothing wrong with
groups organizing around ethnic identity, or around
economic interests, or around regional
concerns. That's how a democracy
naturally works. You get with people who agree
with you or who are like you to make sure that your
concerns are heard. But what I said is that it is
important for a democracy that people's identities are
also a national identity. If you walk down the
streets of New York City, you will see people
looking more different than this group
right here. You'll see blue-eyed,
blonde people. You'll see dark-skinned,
black people. You'll see Asians. You'll see Muslims. You'll see -- but if you
ask any of those people, "What are you?" -- I'm American. Now I may be an
African American or an Asian American
or an Irish American, but the first thing I'll
say is, I'm an American. And if you don't have that
sense of national unity, then it's very hard for
a country to succeed -- particularly a small
country like Myanmar. If people think in terms
of ethnic identity before national identity, then
I think over time -- (applause) then I think over time
country will start breaking apart and
democracy will not work. So there has to be a
sense of common purpose. But that's not an excuse then
for majority groups to say, don't complain, to ethnic
minorities -- because the ethnic minorities may
have some real complaints. And part of what is important
for the majority groups to do -- if, in fact, you have
a national identity, that means that you've got to be
concerned with a minority also because it reflects badly
on your country if somebody from a minority group is
not being treated fairly. America could not live up
to its potential until it treated its black
citizens fairly. That's just a fact, that
that was a stain on America when an entire group of
people couldn't vote, or didn't have
legal protections. Because it made all the
Declarations of Independence and Constitution and rule of
law, it made that seem like an illusion. And so when the Civil
Rights Movement happened in the United States, that wasn't just a victory for African Americans, that was
a victory for America because what it showed was
that the whole country was going to be concerned
about everybody, not just about
some people. And it was a victory for
America's national identity that it was treating
minorities fairly. And that's I think how
every country in ASEAN, including Myanmar, needs to
think about these problems. You need to respect
people's differences. You need to be attentive
to the grievances of minorities that may be
discriminated against. But both the majority
and the minority, the powerful and the powerless,
also have to have a sense of national identity in
order to be successful. I got time for two
more questions. Two more. He said one, but I'm
going to take two. See, it's going to
be one of you three. What do you think? Who should -- out of
the three of you, who should I call on? Are you friends? Okay, so why
don't you decide? (laughter) What do you think? Okay, yes, rock,
paper, scissors. Let's see. (laughter) Who won? Okay, go on. There you go. (applause) What
did you win with? Were you scissors
or rock? Were you rock or
scissors or paper? The Press: Rock. President Obama: Rock. The Press: I rock! President Obama:
You rock? The Press: Yes. President Obama: Yes. The Press: Mingalaba,
Mr. President. I am from Burma from
(inaudible) in American Center. Right now we're working
on a documentary on Yangon University,
Congregation Hall where you spoke the last
time you came. President Obama: Yes,
last time I was here. The Press: Yes. So as you know, Yangon
University has reopened last year, 2013. So do think it is a
good start to rebuild the higher education
statuses in Burma? President Obama: Well, I
think it's a great start. But I think -- as I said
before, one of the biggest challenges Myanmar is going
to face is rebuilding its education system. And I think it has
to start early. It has to start from
the youngest ages. One of the things that
we've learned from science is that the most that you
will ever learn in your entire life happens
from the time you're born until you're
three years old. Between your birth
and the age of three, that's when your brain
is developing the most. And what we've
learned, for example, is that when you read --
when parents read to young children even
before the children know how to read, the children
are building a vocabulary that will put them in a
strong position then to learn how to read
later on because they've heard the words over
and over again. And so I just make that
point because it shows that if you're only worried
about university education, but you're not worrying about
what happens to children when they're three, four,
five, six years old, then you're missing
the foundation for a good education system. And this is true in the
United States, as well. We've got the best university
system in the world. Obviously I'm
biased because I'm the President of
the United States, so I think everything
in the United States is the best in
the world. But I think anybody
objectively would say that we have a system of
universities and colleges that is unequaled
anyplace else. But we still have problems. And one of the things that I'm
spending a lot of time on reform is the elementary,
secondary school levels. And also, even earlier having
what we call early childhood education to get children
off to a good start so that by the time they go to
school, they already know their alphabet and they
can already start reading at an early age. And I hope that that ends
up being a basic emphasis here in Myanmar. But I also think that
from what I've heard, one of the reforms that
will need to take place in universities here is
to make sure that in all the departments
there is the ability for universities
and students to shape curriculums and to have
access to information from everywhere around the
world, and that it's not just a narrow process
of indoctrination. Because the best universities
are ones that teach you how to think not what
to think, right? A good education is
not just knowing facts, although you need
to know facts. You need to know that
two plus two is four; it's not five. That's an important fact. But you also need to know
how to ask questions, and how to critically
analyze a problem, and how to be able to
distinguish between fact and opinion, and how to
compare two different ideas. And I think there's a danger
sometimes in countries that are -- don't
have a long tradition of higher education to try
to narrow the learning process, as opposed
to open it up. And I think that that's
something that I'm sure university students here in
Myanmar will want to express during the course of
this transition period and the reforms that
are taking place. All right, I've got time
for one more question. Wait, wait, wait. No point in yelling. First of all, all the
women have to put their hands down because I
told you it was going to be boy, girl,
boy, girl. And the second thing is,
how many students are there from countries other than
Myanmar who are here? Okay, so I think that in the
interest of ASEAN unity, and because this is a Young
Southeast Asian Leaders Forum, I've got to ask -- The Press: (inaudible) President Obama: No, no, no,
first of all, you can't -- I told you already that
women aren't going to get a chance to ask
the next question. Where are you from? The Press: (inaudible) President Obama: Well,
you're still in Burma. All right. Where you from? (laughter) Sit down. Where you from? All right, let me -- I'm
going to ask this guy, guy from the
Philippines right here. Come on. (applause) You just
started yelling. I didn't even
call on you. (laughter) The Press: Good
afternoon, Mr. President. My name is Ryan
Louis Madrid. I'm from the
Philippines . I'm one of the
person you -- President Obama: I was
just talking about you. The Press: Yes. And, yes, it gave me a
little tear in my eyes. I thank you so much for putting
us -- making me as, like, one of the models maybe for
what youth can do for change. But my question really is,
I just learned recently that the U.S. and
ASEAN will be making a climate change
statement. I'd like to know if you
could tell us what this is all about, and how
this would be different from the Kyoto Protocol
and other climate change efforts in making
real efforts towards curbing climate change. Thank you. (applause) President Obama: So
first of all, let's just establish the
science and the facts. The planet is
getting warmer. The reason the planet is
getting warmer is because human activity is releasing
greenhouse gases that is trapping heat and
increasing temperatures. And because you start
getting a negative feedback loop, as it
gets hotter, ice melts. The permafrost in places
like Siberia start releasing methane gases. Ice packs in Greenland
start melting. That then makes it even warmer. And we're on a trajectory in
which the temperatures could rise so high that it would have
catastrophic impacts around the world because
temperatures start changing, weather patterns shift. Traditional monsoon
seasons might completely reverse themselves. Areas that once used to
have arable land suddenly now have long droughts. Areas that used to be
temperate suddenly get floods. We're seeing the impacts
in developed countries. We see it in my
own country. And we're seeing impacts
in poor countries. And we're seeing
impacts, obviously, in island nations where if the
temperatures continue to rise, we'll end up with oceans that
are two feet or three feet higher, and it could
swallow up entire countries. So this is perhaps
the central challenge, the most important
challenge facing humanity in the 21st century, is
getting control of this. Now, the good news is that we
can begin to slow down that process so that the temperatures
only go up a certain level, and although we'll have
to make some adaptations, it doesn't become
catastrophic. But in order to do
that, we have to start transitioning our economies
to clean energy rather than dirty energy. It means that we have to
start developing wind power and solar power. It means that societies have to
use energy more efficiently. It means that we have to
find ways to use safe nuclear power because they
don't -- that doesn't emit greenhouse gases. So there's no
single answer. There's a group of
answers to the problem. And some of you may be aware
that the United States and China are the two biggest
emitters in the world. The United States had
been the biggest emitter; China overtook us. In fairness to China, each
individual Chinese person probably uses less energy
and emits less greenhouse gases than an
individual American. But there are a lot
more Chinese than there are Americans. And if, as China
continues to develop, they start matching the
United States in how much carbon they release,
we'll never survive. None of us. Same is true with India --
just because of the size of its population. And the same is true with
Southeast Asia, which, as I said before,
contains one out of every 10 people in the world. So all of us are going to
have to be a part of this. And the United States and
China -- in a meeting with President Xi -- we announced
that we are both going to set bold targets for greenhouse gas reductions from 2020 forward. What we're encouraging
ASEAN to do, individual ASEAN countries, is also
to come up with goals for how they are
going to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. And if all countries around
the world put forward ambitious goals at a Paris
conference that we're going to be having in
2015, then this can serve at the basis for
collective action in reducing
greenhouse gases. But although we know
what we need to do, the transition will be
difficult because -- just to give you one
example -- Indonesia. Audience Member: Yeah! President Obama: You
might not want to cheer about this -- has been
cutting down its forests at a very high rate in
order to accommodate the palm oil
industry. Now the palm oil industry
is very lucrative, and you have some very big
landholders and big companies who are making a lot of money
from the palm oil industry. And they create some jobs. But when you just deforest
entire sections of Sumatra or Borneo, that can end
up having a devastating effect on the climate. There are countries in ASEAN
that subsidize energy. Now, oftentimes this is
with the best of intentions. The idea would be we want
to make gasoline cheaper or electricity cheaper
so that poor people can afford it. The problem is that when
you subsidize energy, there's no incentive
to use less energy. So typically when you have
a lot of fuel subsidies, those economies are very
inefficient in how they use energy, and they
generate more pollution. The countries that are most
efficient in energy use, not only do they not
subsidize energy -- in fact, they
tax energy use. So you look like -- in
a country like Norway, which produces a lot of oil,
but gasoline there is still $6 or $7 a gallon, which
in liters -- who wants to do a liter
conversion for me? Anyway, it's
very expensive. So part of what we
hope each country in ASEAN commits to
is to take the steps that will be
required to reduce or at least slow the growth
of its carbon emissions, and then slowly
start reducing them. And it doesn't have
to be overnight, but the transition
has to begin. So if you look at a
country like Indonesia, making a commitment to
reduce deforestation, reduce and eventually
end fuel subsidies, those two things alone could
probably help Indonesia meet a very bold
carbon reduction goal. In the United States, I've
instructed my Environmental Protection Agency to regulate
the amount of greenhouse gases that power plants can
send into the atmosphere. And we've doubled
fuel-efficiency standards on cars. So in a few years, by the
middle of the next century, by 2025, you won't be
able to sell a car in the United States
unless it is delivering twice as much mileage for
every gallon of gas. And so you can build
in transition times to get this done. But we have to start now. And this is probably a
good place for me to end by just saying that the
issue of climate change is a perfect example of why
young people have to lead. Because old people,
they've created a mess, and then they'll be gone. And then you -- (applause) -- you're the ones who
have to deal with it. And also what happens
is old people get set in their ways. So the older you get,
the more likely you are to say, that's how it's
always been so that's how I'm going to
keep on doing it -- even if there's a better
way to do things. Young people,
they're asking, well, why do I have to do
it that way? Let's try it this way. And that kind of
willingness to accept challenges and try things
in a new way, to not be stuck in the past,
or to look towards the future, that's what
all of you represent. So I'm hopeful that you have a
chance to participate in our Young Southeast Asian Leaders
Initiative Fellows Program. Maybe I'll see some of
you in the United States. I'm sure all of you are
going to do great things. And I hope all of you dream
big and then work hard to achieve those dreams. Okay? Thank you very
much, everybody. (applause)
