Burma hits back under UN pressure
Monday, 19 November 2007
Amy Kazmin from Bangkok
BURMA'S military junta mounted a show of defiance against international pressure last week, publicly spurning several initiatives proposed by a United Nations special envoy to break the impasse between the military and advocates of democracy.
The tough talk was relayed in an unusual state newspaper account of a meeting last week between Ibrahim Gambari, the UN envoy, and senior cabinet members as part of a new international push for change in Burma following September's crackdown on anti-government protesters.
During the meeting, Brigadier Kyaw Hsan, the information minister, rebuffed Mr Gambari's proposal for a three-way dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained pro-democracy leader, a senior junta representative and himself.
In a tirade, the minister also demanded that Mr Gambari persuade western countries to lift economic sanctions, snubbing the envoy's suggestion of establishing a non-partisan poverty alleviation commission.
"Your previous visit did not bear fruit as we expected," Gen Kyaw Hsan complained. You should play a leading role in organising and persuading others to relieve and lift sanctions."
Fresh punitive measures against Burma would undermine the regime's co-operation with the UN, he warned, but would not shake it from its political course. "Myanmar is a small nation, and if a big power bullies her with its influence . . . . . we will have no other way but to face this and endure," he said.
The newspaper account suggests Mr Gambari, left Burma last week without meeting the powerful Senior General Than Shwe. He ended his mission without any commitments from the junta. But Mr Gambari told Rangoon-based diplomats that another meeting with Gen Thein Sein, the prime minister, was slightly more positive, though he did not elaborate, said a diplomat who attended the briefing.
Analysts said the newspaper account was probably aimed at countering perceptions of weakness within the regime. "This is the government sending a message domestically and internationally that 'we are in control here'," said a UN official.
But diplomats and Rangoon residents say the generals and Burmese businessmen appear seriously shaken by economic problems and tightening sanctions. "They are genuinely rattled . . . . . and when they are rattled they lash out," said one Rangoon diplomat. "Whether they are biting in reality, or biting psychologically, the sanctions are definitely biting.."
(Under syndication arrangement with FE)
BURMA'S military junta mounted a show of defiance against international pressure last week, publicly spurning several initiatives proposed by a United Nations special envoy to break the impasse between the military and advocates of democracy.
The tough talk was relayed in an unusual state newspaper account of a meeting last week between Ibrahim Gambari, the UN envoy, and senior cabinet members as part of a new international push for change in Burma following September's crackdown on anti-government protesters.
During the meeting, Brigadier Kyaw Hsan, the information minister, rebuffed Mr Gambari's proposal for a three-way dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained pro-democracy leader, a senior junta representative and himself.
In a tirade, the minister also demanded that Mr Gambari persuade western countries to lift economic sanctions, snubbing the envoy's suggestion of establishing a non-partisan poverty alleviation commission.
"Your previous visit did not bear fruit as we expected," Gen Kyaw Hsan complained. You should play a leading role in organising and persuading others to relieve and lift sanctions."
Fresh punitive measures against Burma would undermine the regime's co-operation with the UN, he warned, but would not shake it from its political course. "Myanmar is a small nation, and if a big power bullies her with its influence . . . . . we will have no other way but to face this and endure," he said.
The newspaper account suggests Mr Gambari, left Burma last week without meeting the powerful Senior General Than Shwe. He ended his mission without any commitments from the junta. But Mr Gambari told Rangoon-based diplomats that another meeting with Gen Thein Sein, the prime minister, was slightly more positive, though he did not elaborate, said a diplomat who attended the briefing.
Analysts said the newspaper account was probably aimed at countering perceptions of weakness within the regime. "This is the government sending a message domestically and internationally that 'we are in control here'," said a UN official.
But diplomats and Rangoon residents say the generals and Burmese businessmen appear seriously shaken by economic problems and tightening sanctions. "They are genuinely rattled . . . . . and when they are rattled they lash out," said one Rangoon diplomat. "Whether they are biting in reality, or biting psychologically, the sanctions are definitely biting.."
(Under syndication arrangement with FE)