"When I took office as president, I sent a message to those governments who ruled by fear," Obama said. "I said in my inauguration address: We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. And over the last year and a half, a dramatic transition has begun, as a dictatorship of five decades has loosened its grip."
Well-wishers lined the streets of Yangon as Obama arrived, taking pictures of his limousine with smart phones and iPads. He later visited the Shwedagon Pagoda, whose 325-foot (99-meter) tall gold-plated spire encrusted with diamonds and rubies towers over Yangon.
Left, U.S. President Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, U.S. secretary of state, arrive at Yangon International Airport in Yangon.
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