UN chief has ‘some concern’ over NLD, critics seek more

Thursday, 16 September 2010 21:36 Thomas Maung Shwe

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “notes with some concern” the Burmese junta electoral watchdog’s decision to dissolve 10 parties including the National League for Democracy led by detained Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a statement released by his office yesterday.

He also once again called on the Burmese regime to “ensure that November’s elections are fully inclusive”, the statement said.

The statement echoes what critics have called the “weak” approach that has become synonymous with Ban’s tenure. It came several hours after a daily press briefing in which journalist Matthew Russell Lee asked the secretary general’s spokesman, Martin Nesirky, several pointed questions about Ban’s stance regarding the dissolution of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and what Ban’s interim Burma envoy, his chief of staff Vijay Nambiar, actually does.

Critics alarmed by Ban’s lack of action

Ban’s high-profile critics in the movement for a truly democratic Burma expressed concern that the secretary general’s public relations department was simply rehashing old press releases while Ban continued to avoid making any real attempt to convey these concerns to Burma’s military rulers.

Burma Campaign UK director Mark Farmaner told Mizzima via telephone that Ban’s calls for the November elections to be “inclusive” were “ridiculous because it’s very clear from all of the election laws and the situation on the ground, that is impossible”.

Farmaner, referring to Burma’s much criticised constitution that mandated that a quarter of seats in all three houses of parliament be reserved for unelected military personnel and requires that the cabinet include military representatives, added that even “if the elections were free and fair it wouldn’t matter because there is a new constitution designed to maintain dictatorship”.

Khun Myint Tun, an NLD member of parliament from Karen State elected in the 1990 election said that “if Ban Ki-moon continues to use the soft approach with the Burmese regime they will continue to ignore him – they are state terrorists”. The former political prisoner told Mizzima he believed Ban had really let the people of Burma down by “just repeating the same weak statements over and over so he can claim he is doing something”.

The member of Burma’s Pao ethnic minority said he was deeply disappointed that despite frequent and unambiguous resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly calling for Burma’s military regime to have dialogue with the democratically elected opposition and representatives of Burma’s ethnic minorities “Ban Ki-moon does little if anything”.

“Over the years we lost a lot of the hope we had in the UN but we still expected something and in the past there was some effort by previous secretary generals and their representatives to make progress, Ban Ki-moon has really eliminated what little hope we still had,” Khun Myint Tun said.

Many Burma observers including Farmaner agree with Khun Myint Tun’s pessimistic assessment of the UN. Farmaner told Mizzima: “The UN spent the last seven years trying to reform the generals’ road map, but this is a road map that always had one destination – continued dictatorship. They [the UN] have had a completely flawed and failed strategy and yet still they are desperately clinging to the fantasy that the election will some how be free and fair.”

Farmaner added: “Ban Ki-moon knows that the election will not be free and fair, so why is he is still issuing press releases talking about this? It’s irresponsible to be going on endlessly about this when Ban Ki-moon is just avoiding doing his job as mandated by the UN General Assembly, which is to try and get tripartite dialogue in Burma.”

Role of envoy Nambiar unclear; UN reporter wonders if he does anything at all?

In an official transcript of yesterday’s press briefing in which Matthew Russell Lee – an accredited correspondent at the United Nations for Inner City Press – specifically asked about the present UN Burma special envoy, many questions were left unanswered as to whether Ban’s interim envoy Nambiar was actually doing anything.

The following portion of the transcript from the UN website shows how far Ban’s spokesman Nesirky goes to avoid answering questions about the role of the envoy:

Inner City Press: What’s the involvement of Mr. [Vijay] Nambiar in the good offices and what does the Secretary-General hope to come out of the meeting of the Secretary-General’s Friends on Myanmar in the upcoming general debate?

Spokesman: Well, I think you’re fully familiar with Mr. Nambiar’s good offices role related to Myanmar. The Group of Friends meeting, which would be at ministerial level, is likely to be on 27 [September]. Further details are being worked out on that, including press availability, and I think at that point, after the meeting, you’ll be able to find out the content of the meeting.

Inner City Press: Just about Mr. Nambiar, because I’m actually not clear on what the office does. I wanted to know, on something like this, did they know in advance that this decision was being made by the Government? Had they spoken to the NLD about these concerns or are they just reacting to the stories about it? I don’t mean that insultingly, I just mean, I’m just trying to get a sense, did that office try to forestall this decision by the Government, or are they as mystified as everyone else?

Spokesman: Well, there are a couple of things here. Mr. Nambiar has support, people who are obviously able to help him, who are monitoring this daily, the whole time. Therefore, they will clearly have been aware of movements. What the diplomatic process might entail, I’m not in a position to say. I would reiterate what the Secretary-General himself has said. He’s expressed his frustration here on the access to the Myanmar authorities to talk about these kinds of things, so I think that might answer your question.