UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari has returned from Burma (also referred to as Myanmar), and has briefed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the results of his diplomatic mission. Gambari's visit was prompted after the UN Security Council failed to pass a resolution calling for an end to the human rights abuses in Burma--a failure due, chiefly, to the vetos of Russia and China. No details of Gambari's visit have yet been made public, though Gambari is scheduled to brief the UN Security Council tomorrow.
Over the course of his visit, Gambari was able to meet both with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well as top officials from the ruling military junta in Burma, and there has been some speculation that Gambari couriered messages between the two. Suu Kyi has been under some form of imprisonment in Burma for much of the past two decades. She was first placed in detention in 1988, when the National League for Democracy won the Burmese general election and the military junta subsequently nullified the election results.
Since Burma's military crackdown on protestors began last week, both the US and the EU have sought to impose economic and diplomatic sanctions against Burma and its military elite. On the other hand, India, who sells arms to Burma, and who has just signed a deep-sea oil exploration deal with the country, has kept its words measured. China, who is the country seen as having the largest influence on Burma (China is Burma's chief trading partner, and also has significant interests in Burma's oil and natural gas reserves), has also been careful to stay out of the limelight. However, given the reaction of the global community over the past weeks, there are rumours that China's position on the matter is quietly changing. According to an unnamed US official, the message from the US has been "You wanted to become a big power -- part of being a big power is you will be held responsible for your client states." Stay tuned.
Comments