WASHINGTON (AFP) - United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday welcomed activists from Myanmar including a comedian recently freed from prison as part of Washington's efforts to encourage reform in the country. The State Department released a photograph of a smiling Ms Clinton stretching out both hands to greet Zarganar, a poet, filmmaker and performer who has been a prominent source of dissent in the country formerly known as BurmaMr Zarganar, who was repeatedly incarcerated and sentenced to decades in prison after helping survivors of devastating Cyclone Nargis in 2008, was released in October as President Thein Sein seeks to ease decades of harsh rule.
Ms Clinton also met at the State Department with Bauk Gyar, an ethnic minority activist from Kachin state who is running in closely watched April 1 by-elections, and women's campaigner Khin Than Myint.
