If credit is due for reshaping the mindset of Burma's leaders, then no small part of it should go to President Barack Obama who a short time after he was elected president in 2009 said to despotic regimes around the globe the US was willing to extend a hand if ''you are willing to unclench your first''.
According to US diplomatic cables this struck a chord with the junta's generals who were already laying down a ''roadmap to democracy'' which resulted in last year's election, the first in two decades which was criticised by some as a show to legitimise the generals' shift to civilian rule.
The US diplomatic cable from April 2009 said conversations with the generals indicated they wanted; an ''escape strategy'', the lifting of sanctions and to be accorded the respect shown to other world leaders. They were also seeking assurances that the older generals, after voluntarily ceding power, would not be stripped of their assets and face prosecution.
Another problem for the generals was Burma's sovereignty and a growing resentment amongst the populace that it was now a vassal state of its powerful neighbour China, with its multi-faceted interests in natural resources and energy infrastructure.
