Thaindian News

By Betwa Sharma
United Nations, July 14 (IANS) United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked the Myanmar leadership to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, resume a dialogue between the government and opposition, and create conditions for credible and legitimate elections to be held next year.

“I made specific proposals with a particular focus on three outstanding concerns, which if left unaddressed could undermine any confidence in Myanmar’s political process,” he told the Security Council in a briefing following a two-day visit to the country July 3-4.

The visit included a meeting with the Prime Minister General Thein Sein, Senior General Than Shwe and members of several political parties. Next year, Myanmar has scheduled its first elections in more than 20 years.

“Any successful transition will require overcoming the country’s twin legacy of political deadlock and civil conflict,” said Ban.

The UN chief called the ruling regime’s refusal to allow a meeting with political prisoner and Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi a “deep disappointment” and “a major lost opportunity for Myanmar”.

Myanmar ambassador to the UN Than Swe told the Security Council that his government intended to implement all “appropriate recommendations” proposed. “At the request of the Secretary General the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections.”

“This is encouraging but I will have to continue to follow up how they will implement all the issues raised during my visit in Myanmar,” the UN chief told the media.

The representatives of the US, France and Britain also expressed deep regret at the Myanmar authorities’ refusal to grant access to Suu Kyi and its inability to address grave human rights violations.

“There can be no free and fair elections while key leaders of Burma’s democratic opposition including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 other political prisoners languish in Burma’s prisons,” said Rosemary A. DiCarlo, speaking for the US.

“As the only political figure in the country to have received a popular democratic mandate, she (Suu Kyi) has a central role to play in the future of a democratic Burma,” said British envoy Philip Parham.

Suu Kyi, 64, has been under detention for most of the past two past decades. She is the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the national elections in 1990.

The military rulers ignored the results and did not hand over power. She is presently on trial for breaching the conditions of her house arrest when a US national swam across a lake and broke into her compound.

Ambassador Swe called the Secretary-General’s visit “successful”, adding that “his inability to meet with Ms. Suu Kyi should not be seen as the only benchmark for the success or failure of his visit”.

On the humanitarian front, the Secretary General said: “I saw for myself the progress made one year later in the recovery and reconstruction of the cyclone affected region”.

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis tore through southern Myanmar claiming at least 140,000 victims and affecting 2.4 million others.

(Betwa Sharma can be contacted at betwasharma@gmail.com)