Embassy of the United States, Yangon explained

Embassy of the United States of America in Burma
Location:Rangoon, Burma
Coordinates:16.8254°N 96.1447°W
Address:110 University Avenue Road, Kamayut Township
Relocation:August 2007
Ambassador:Susan N. Stevenson (Chargé d'Affairs ad interim)

The Embassy of the United States of America in Rangoon represents the official diplomatic mission of the American government in Burma (Myanmar), provides assistance to American citizens and issues visas to foreign nationals, for the purposes of visiting and immigration.

Location

The American Embassy was formerly located in Downtown Rangoon, on Merchant Street between 33rd Street and 34th Street, facing the Independence Monument park and Rangoon City Hall on the other side of the park. Sule Pagoda was one block north on the west side of the park. The building was formerly a Bank in a 45437ft2 colonial-era structure.[1] In August 2007, the embassy moved to new premises further from Downtown, because of security concerns at the old site.[2] From 2001 to 2005, as a consequence of the September 11 attacks, roadblocks and security barriers were placed in front the building, to seal off traffic.[3]

The new embassy site, located on the University Avenue Road in Rangoon's Kamayut Township, facing Inya Lake, was reportedly constructed at the cost of $60 million USD.[4]

Controversy

According to WikiLeaks cables, the embassy funded some of the civil society groups in Burma that forced the government to suspend a controversial Chinese Myitsone Dam on the Irrawaddy river.[5] According to media reports citing documents published by Germany's Der Spiegel in 2010, the embassy is the site of an electronic surveillance facility used to monitor telephones and communications networks, run jointly by the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency group known as Special Collection Service.[6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: East Asia and the Pacific Properties (EAP) . US Department of State . 11 April 2012 .
  2. News: Foreign missions left in the dark in old capital – Peter Janssen . Janssen. Peter. 30 March 2007. Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 11 April 2012.
  3. News: Burmese authorities remove roadblocks from front of the U.S. Embassy Rangoon. 7 November 2005. Associated Press. 11 April 2012.
  4. News: Construction boom leads to quality concerns . Thet Khaing . 3 September 2007 . Myanmar Times . 11 April 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110308164748/http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/Construction/con03.htm . 8 March 2011 .
  5. News: WikiLeaks cables: Americans funded groups that stalled Burma dam project. 1 November 2013. The Guardian. 30 September 2011.
  6. News: Tim McLaughlin and Nyan Lynn Aung. US embassy in Yangon a secret listening post: Snowden. 31 October 2013. The Myanmar Times. 31 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131102170628/http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/8646-us-embassy-in-yangon-a-secret-listening-post-snowden.html. 2 November 2013. dead.