Burma's junta warned by UN envoy
Monday, 8 October 2007
Amy Kazmin in Bangkok and Harvey Morris at the United Nations, FT Syndication Service
The United Nations' special envoy to Burma said last Friday he was "cautiously encouraged" by the decision of its military rulers to hold talks with the country's main opposition leader, but anti-regime activists dismissed the conditional offer as an attempt to dupe the international community.
Addressing the UN Security Council after a four-day visit to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari said unconfirmed reports suggested the casualty toll in the government's crackdown on street protests was much higher than the dozen deaths it had so far acknowledged.
Warning the regime of "serious international repercussions" if it did not respond to demands for democratic change, he said: "No country can afford to act in isolation from the standards by which all members of the international community are held."
However, despite a string of statements from Security Council members condemning the regime's actions, the prospect of a concerted international response looked certain to be stymied by the resistance of some countries, notably China, to imposing sanctions on the regime.
Wang Guangya, China's UN envoy, said: "Pressure will not help address the problem but might lead to mistrust and confrontation, and even cut off the current channel of dialogue between Myanmar [Burma] and the United Nations."
Opposition spokespeople meanwhile cast doubt on the regime's sincerity about launching an internal dialogue. Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's Nobel prize-winning democracy advocate, dismissed the junta's conditional offer of talks as an attempt to deflect international pressure.
State television announced last Thursday night that General Than Shwe, the junta's powerful leader, was willing to meet Ms Suu Kyi if she abandoned her long-standing call for further sanctions on top of those that the regime blames for the poor state of the economy.
With Ms Suu Kyi under house arrest and cut off from nearly all contact with the outside world, her personal views remain unclear.
Nyan Win, a spokesman for Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, told Burmese journalists in Rangoon that Gen Than Shwe's conditions for talks showed that "the government is not really sincere about meeting her".
Zaw Min, a spokesman for the Democratic Party for a New Society, called the offer "unrealistic", though he said Ms Suu Kyi should be allowed to consult others, including her party members and ethnic minority leaders, before responding.
"For the army, they have guns, money and power," he said. "For the exiles and democracy activists, sanctions are our only weapon."
However, Lian Sakhong, the general secretary of the Ethnic Nationalities Council that represents ethnic minorities still technically at war with the central government, called the offer "a positive sign" that could be an opening to "push forward a more meaningful dialogue".
The United Nations' special envoy to Burma said last Friday he was "cautiously encouraged" by the decision of its military rulers to hold talks with the country's main opposition leader, but anti-regime activists dismissed the conditional offer as an attempt to dupe the international community.
Addressing the UN Security Council after a four-day visit to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari said unconfirmed reports suggested the casualty toll in the government's crackdown on street protests was much higher than the dozen deaths it had so far acknowledged.
Warning the regime of "serious international repercussions" if it did not respond to demands for democratic change, he said: "No country can afford to act in isolation from the standards by which all members of the international community are held."
However, despite a string of statements from Security Council members condemning the regime's actions, the prospect of a concerted international response looked certain to be stymied by the resistance of some countries, notably China, to imposing sanctions on the regime.
Wang Guangya, China's UN envoy, said: "Pressure will not help address the problem but might lead to mistrust and confrontation, and even cut off the current channel of dialogue between Myanmar [Burma] and the United Nations."
Opposition spokespeople meanwhile cast doubt on the regime's sincerity about launching an internal dialogue. Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's Nobel prize-winning democracy advocate, dismissed the junta's conditional offer of talks as an attempt to deflect international pressure.
State television announced last Thursday night that General Than Shwe, the junta's powerful leader, was willing to meet Ms Suu Kyi if she abandoned her long-standing call for further sanctions on top of those that the regime blames for the poor state of the economy.
With Ms Suu Kyi under house arrest and cut off from nearly all contact with the outside world, her personal views remain unclear.
Nyan Win, a spokesman for Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, told Burmese journalists in Rangoon that Gen Than Shwe's conditions for talks showed that "the government is not really sincere about meeting her".
Zaw Min, a spokesman for the Democratic Party for a New Society, called the offer "unrealistic", though he said Ms Suu Kyi should be allowed to consult others, including her party members and ethnic minority leaders, before responding.
"For the army, they have guns, money and power," he said. "For the exiles and democracy activists, sanctions are our only weapon."
However, Lian Sakhong, the general secretary of the Ethnic Nationalities Council that represents ethnic minorities still technically at war with the central government, called the offer "a positive sign" that could be an opening to "push forward a more meaningful dialogue".