Gambari has Big Agenda during Visit

Burmese dissidents called for UN Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari to call for tripartite talks with opposition groups, the release of political prisoners and to deliver frank accounts of his meetings with opposition groups and Burmese officials

Bo Kyi, the joint secretary of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), said, “He [Gambari] must do what he should do. After meeting with Burmese officials and the opposition, he should give frank accounts to the public.” 

“For example, if the junta is stubborn and doesn’t want to negotiate, he must frankly report that so the UN can clearly understand the issues,” said Bo Kyi.

Han Thar Myhint, a National League for Democracy spokesperson, said the party’s office was told by authorities to prepare for a meeting with the UN envoy, but did not indicate the day or time of the meeting.

The UN envoy met with Burma’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win on Monday in hope of continuing the stalled talks between the junta and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.    

He also met with representatives of the diplomatic corps, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the UN Tripartite Core Group and was briefed by the UN country team, according to a UN report.    

Cin Sian Thang, the chairman of the Zomi National Congress in Rangoon, said ethnic leaders have had little input into Gambari’s past trips to Burma and knew little about his current five-day visit.

“We only knew that Gambari came to Burma and went back,” he said. “We don’t know whether he would like a chance to meet with us or not,” said Cin Sian Thang.     

“We heard that he will meet with opposition leaders and ethnic leaders. So, we are hoping to meet him, and we are ready to discuss issues with him as well. We are now waiting for him, but we haven’t heard whether he will meet us.” 

On Tuesday, Gambari visited Kungyangone Township in southern Rangoon, one of areas most affected by Cyclone Nargis which struck on May 2-3 and left more than 140,000 dead and missing. Gambari met with Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan in Rangoon, according to a spokesperson with the UN Information Center in Rangoon. 

Lian H Sakhong, the secretary-general of the Thailand-based Ethnic Nationalities Council, on Tuesday urged Gambari to try to persuade the military regime to create a tripartite dialogue that includes the government, opposition leaders and ethnic leaders.  
 
Meanwhile, the Burma Campaign UK on Monday urged Gambari to make the release of political prisoners a top priority during his visit.

“The release of political prisoners will be the benchmark by which Gambari and Ban Ki-moon will be judged,” Wai Hnin, a political prisoners advocate at Burma Campaign UK, said in a statement. 

“It’s a normal, first step when a country enters into political reform,” he said. “If the regime is genuine about their claims, they will reform. They should release all political prisoners immediately.”

The statement said conditions in Burma’s prisons are deteriorating as authorities deny medical treatment to political detainees including leaders of the 88 Generation Students group such as Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Mya Aye as well as Myo Yan Naung Thein, a student activist, who are all in Insein Prison. 

“The United Nations Security Council has said the political prisoners should be released, and Gambari and Ban Ki-Moon must make that happen,” he said. “We have had 20 years of envoys going back and forth with nothing to show for it. It is time they delivered concrete results.”