EDITORIAL Mr Ban is needed
Published: 28/06/2009 at 12:00 AM (Bangkok Post 28.6.09)
Newspaper section: News

United Nations special envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Rangoon on Friday and was driven to the capital of Naypyidaw to meet Foreign Minister Nyan Win. It was Mr Gambari’s eighth visit to Burma to try to promote political reconciliation between the military government and the pro-democracy movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who is the figurehead for the National League for Democracy (NLD).

Mr Gambari flew out last night after failing to meet with either Ms Suu Kyi, who is now imprisoned in Insein Prison in Rangoon, or Senior General Than Shwe.

Through no shortage of effort on Mr Gambari’s part, such diplomatic moves have come to be accompanied by a general lack of expectation due to the obstinacy of the military regime.

This time the special envoy’s trip had been billed as a preparation for a visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon early next month. Reportedly the final decision on the UN chief’s trip will be made after Mr Gambari briefs Mr Ban upon his return to the UN headquarters in New York.

Indications are that the UN chief will make the trip, and that is exactly what he should do.

Mr Ban is said to be especially keen to press the Burmese leadership on the release of Ms Suu Kyi, who is on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest by allowing an uninvited, trespassing American man to stay in her home. The trial, which is set to resume on July 3, is a sham of course, and that fact will be all the more difficult to hide in the media attention surrounding a possible visit by Mr Ban.

According to some sources, one factor that could discourage him from coming is the possibility that the military junta could use the visit as a propaganda tool, to suggest that the UN approves of the junta’s handling of the trial against Ms Suu Kyi.

The remedy for that is simply the kind of candid commitment to human rights and democratisation that Mr Ban has shown all along with regard to Burma. In addition to pressing for the release of Ms Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, if he does decide to come Mr Ban should bring up the renewed assault on ethnic Karen by Burmese security forces, which has sent thousands fleeing onto Thai soil in recent last weeks, as discussed in a column on this page on Friday. In the past 24 years, more than 150,000 displaced persons, mostly members of ethnic groups, have fled from Burma into Thailand, which provides shelter for the Burmese at nine camps along the 2,400km border. The army has also extended shelter to the most recent Karen arrivals, and NGOs are providing basic humanitarian assistance.

Also on Mr Ban’s agenda should be a push for transparency and the inclusion of all political and ethnic groups in the general election in 2010.

It seems clear that the military government is intent on at least putting on a show of an election, which would require some sort of presence by the NLD. According to some within the opposition camp the NLD may boycott the election altogether if Ms Suu Kyi is not released. On the other hand, there are some who feel that the NLD will be declared an illegal party ahead of the election.

As unlikely as it may be, Mr Ban should press for international election monitors.

At the same time, there can be little expectation that anything positive could come out of a trip by Mr Ban or anyone else if they adopt a purely aggressive posture with the generals. This is a job that requires true diplomacy, and success at this time may be measured in small steps and intangibles.

A high profile visit by the UN chief can only be a good thing. If the Burmese leadership were truly oblivious to world opinion they would not allow representatives from the UN in the first place. It may look as though the prospects for real change in Burma are bleak at this time, but that doesn’t mean the UN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or the world should stop trying.