By SCOTT McDONALD,
AP
Posted: 2007-10-12 07:20:30
BEIJING (AP) – The U.N.’s condemnation of Myanmar ’s crackdown on protesters was designed to encourage the government and people there to work together to solve the crisis, China said Friday.
In its first-ever statement on Myanmar, the U.N. Security Council said it “strongly deplores” the government’s violent crackdown on protesters and called for a “genuine dialogue” between the country’s military rulers and the pro-democracy opposition.
The compromise statement approved by all 15 council members – including close Myanmar ally China – emphasized “the importance of the early release of all political prisoners and remaining detainees.”
China is a veto-holding permanent member of the council.
China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement a day after the resolution saying “the Myanmar issue should be fundamentally and properly resolved with the own efforts of Myanmar’s government and people themselves and through consultation.”
The council statement was read at a formal meeting shortly after the United Nations announced that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would send the U.N. envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, back to Asia next week for talks with key governments.
Ban sent Gambari to Myanmar after troops quashed protests initially led by students and then by Buddhist monks in late September. He told the Security Council on his return last week that he was concerned over reports of a continuing crackdown on protesters.
The protests were violently crushed when soldiers opened fire on the crowd. Myanmar’s military junta said 10 people were killed and nearly 2,100 arrested, but diplomats and dissidents say the death toll is likely much higher and up to 6,000 people were seized, including thousands of monks.
The United States, Britain and France proposed a stronger text that would have condemned the violence and called for the immediate release of the political prisoners and detainees, singling out pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years. But it was watered down to get approval from China, which had proposed a much weaker text.
Beijing offered only mild criticism of the Myanmar junta’s suppression of pro-democracy protests last month that drew vehement condemnation from nations around the world.
Beijing is a major source of economic support for the regime, and has joined India and Russia – which also have much to gain from trading with Myanmar – in opposing calls for sanctions or other efforts to isolate the regime.
On the Net:
http://www.fmprc.gov.cn (in Chinese)