UN envoy defies call to scrap Burma mission
By Harvey Morris
September 13, 2008
The Financial Times
Original Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4182b154-810d-11dd-82dd-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
Ibrahim Gambari, the United Nations special envoy to Burma, said on Friday he would continue his role of mediator despite opposition accusations that he has failed to dent the ruling junta’s resistance to restoring democracy.
Ban Ki-Moon, UN secretary-general, has faced pressure to scrap the Gambari mission since the Nigerian diplomat returned from his latest visit to Burma last month without securing meetings with either Than Shwe, head of the military regime, or Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained opposition leader. It was the first time she had declined to meet the envoy.
The United Nationalities Alliance, grouping ethnic opposition groups, last week wrote to Mr Ban noting that despite Mr Gambari’s six missions to Burma “his visits have not yielded any tangible outcome yet”.
“One view is that the good offices mission has failed,” Mr Gambari told the FT. “But to terminate it would be to give up on the people of Myanmar and we don’t have that luxury.”
His cautious approach towards the military junta has been interpreted as appeasement by elements of the opposition who are demanding freedom for all political prisoners. “He is not doing his job properly,” said Aung Din, a US-based opposition leader. “He has changed his mission to supporting the junta.”
The envoy’s efforts to secure a political settlement intensified after opposition protests a year ago were violently suppressed by the regime. However, Burma’s military rulers rejected UN calls to abandon a controversial constitutional referendum in May days after a devastating cyclone.
Some diplomats defended Mr Gambari and said he had a tough job in the face of the regime’s intransigence. Jean-Maurice Ripert, French envoy to the UN, said criticism should not be directed at Mr Gambari, but rather at the ruling junta for failing to engage in a political dialogue with the opposition.
Mr Gambari said he had no plans for an early return to Burma until there was a prospect of progress. Western diplomats say some members of the UN Security Council, including China and Russia, who are opposed to sanctions, would like the Gambari mission to maintain business as usual. The existence of the UN-sponsored process is seen as easing pressure to impose tougher measures on Burma.
But Mr Gambari appeared to favour firmer demands on the regime on the key issues of freedom for political prisoners and a return to political dialogue. “We always said the process is not an end in itself. It should deliver tangible results.”
Zalmay Khalilzad, US envoy, said this week: “More pressure needs to be applied on the regime, since on both of these issues the obstacle is the policies of the regime.”