102. Editorial Note
On September 8, 1966, President and Mrs. Johnson welcomed Chairman and Mrs. Ne Win at a ceremony held on the South Lawn of the White House. After remarks by the President and the Chairman, Johnson took Ne Win by the arm and walked with him to the Diplomatic Room where they and their wives stood in a receiving line. Then, the President took Ne Win out the South Portico to a waiting limousine for a welcoming parade around Washington. During the motorcade ride the two men exchanged pleasantries, but no substantive remarks. The motorcade returned to Blair House where Ne Win received the key to the city of Washington from the D.C. Commissioner. President Johnson and Chairman Ne Win met privately in the Oval Office from 5:07 to 6:05 p.m. No memorandum of this conversation has been found. (Johnson Library, Presidentʼs Daily Diary) Prior to the meeting, Special Assistant Rostow sent the President a brief memorandum suggesting that the President should outline his position on Vietnam, raise the question of Southeast Asian regional development, and ask Ne Win for his view of what was happening in China. (Memorandum from Rostow to Johnson, September 8; ibid., National Security File, Country File, Burma, Ne Win Visit, 9/8–10/66) That evening Ne Win and his wife attended a dinner at the White House. On September 9 President Johnson met Ne Win briefly from 5:07 to 5:30 to discuss their joint communiqué and bid him farewell. (Ibid., Presidentʼs Daily Diary)
Ne Win met separately with Under Secretary George Ball and Ambassador at Large Averell Harriman on September 9, 1966. Their conversations covered Bo Setkya, exiled opponent of Ne Win, China, and Vietnam. (Memoranda of conversations, September 9; Department of State, Central Files, POL BURMA–US and POL 7 BURMA) The difficulties posed by Bo Setkyaʼs presence in the United States during the Ne Win visit are outlined in a memorandum from Rusk to the President, August 23. (Ibid., Bundy Files: Lot 85 D 240, Miscellaneous Chron)