_ by Nava Thakuria

The United Nations has been making vain efforts for the national reconciliation in Burma (Myanmar) as Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest, argues Asian Center for Human Rights, a New Delhi based rights body. In a press statement, the ACHR director Suhash Chakma also added that the ‘former Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General Ismail Rizali from Malaysia failed to make any breakthrough’.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon appointed Ibrahim Gambari as his Special Advisor on Burma to garner the cooperation of the government of Burma and other concerned parties in making progress toward the restoration of democracy and the protection of human rights in Burma. In July 2007, Mr Gambari visited China, India, Japan, Russia and several European countries to seek their support on Burma. Earlier in August, Ibrahim Gambari also visited Singapore, Thailand, and is supposed to visit Malaysia and Indonesia before visiting Burma.

Talking about the role of New Delhi, Mr Chakma elaborated, “The embargo on the Burmese junta from the European Union and the United States has been off-set by China, Thailand and India. Thailand, now being ruled by the military junta, has almost become a pariah and it has its own credibility problem.”

India which awarded the highest civilian award to Aung San Suu Kyi is even scared to raise the issue of her release – a demand echoed by most democratic countries in the world including those who do business with the Junta. India has been providing largesse of funds and military aid to the Burmese Junta in the hope of getting oil, counter-balance China’s influence on the junta and launch joint counter-insurgency operations to deal with insurgency in the Northeast India, the ACHR director claimed.

He however maintained that ‘India’s hopes are misplaced and it has been virtually left in the lurch by China’. In late June 2007, Mr Eric John, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the United States, held talks with Burma’s ministers of Foreign Affairs, Culture and Information in Beijing, China. On 14-15 August 2007, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe held talks with the representatives of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing and the agenda of talks included Burma. This shows that Beijing has become the key interlocutor on Burma.

On the other hand, a veteran Bumese politician expresses his views about Burma as being ruled by none other than thugs. Amyotheryei U Win Naing, a seventy-year-old pro-democracy activist of Burma anguished, “Burmese people have become the most vulnerable people in the world against inhuman attacks by the officially sponsored gangsters-like goons.”

The leader of Democractic National Affairs Activists group of Burma, Mr Naing has expressed his views in an appeal (copy of which is with this writer) to the word communities. A student leader turned politician Mr Naing’s views received importance following the incidents of protest rallies in many parts of the country, which were subsequently dismantled by the military assigned thugs.

The former capital of Burma, Rangoon city witnessed a silent protest rally on August 19 over an abrupt hike of fuel price. It was followed by more than six such rallies in Rangoon (Yangon) and other parts of Burma, which faced the attacks from the pro-junta goons. Till date, over hundred pro-democracy activists were arrested by the military government.

He has earlier written a letter to the UN Secretary General narrating the assassination attempt on him and appealed for taking urgent and appropriate measures to stop further similar assaults on the citizens. Mr Naing also claimed that in a week, ’seventy to one hundred Burmese citizens through out the country have been forcibly taken into custody by thugs acting in collaboration with military government officials’.

“I most urgently appeal to the world to come to the Burmese people’s protection. People are now taking to the streets asking for adequate living conditions and survival,” stated Mr Naing adding that he and his group had tried to help the starving people by donating rice, but the military government’s goons with the support of the officials were bent upon preventing them.

Meanwhile, condemnation poured on the junta government from UN to EU to various distinguished human rights bodies. The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called on the Burmese government ‘to exercise restraint’. The European Union, US and British government also joined the chorus of condemning the junta for the suppression. Earlier the New York based Human Rights Watch also slammed the junta for arresting the participants of the rally in Rangoon arguing that the crackdown was a violation of the fundamental rights of congregation. Words of condemnation came from the Hong Kong based Asian Human Rights Commission too.