Suu Kyi's party: UN envoy to Myanmar wasting time

The Associated Press ,  Yangon   |  Sun, 08/24/2008 2:42 PM  |  World

U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari was "wasting his time" in Myanmar because he did nothing to end the political stalemate in the country, the opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi charged Sunday.

The unusually harsh criticism comes a day after Gambari ended his six-day mission to Myanmar without meeting Suu Kyi nor the country's top general. He left for Singapore on Saturday.

Gambari told diplomats Saturday that it was Suu Kyi and not the government who refused the meeting. The news adds to speculation that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate may be dissatisfied with the United Nations' thus far unsuccessful efforts to bring about change in the military-ruled nation.

On Sunday, the spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League For Democracy, Nyan Win, had little good to say about Gambari's mission. He criticized Gambari for failing to meet the country's leader, General Than Shwe, and being unable get any commitments from the regime to start talks with the opposition toward a national reconciliation.

He also criticized Gambari for offering to help the junta prepare for the planned 2010 election. Suu Kyi's party, known as the NLD, has criticized the planned polls, which will come as a result of a constitutional referendum earlier this year that critics say was neither free nor fair.

"We have made very clear to the U.N. envoy that the mission should not discuss the upcoming 2010 elections as the NLD does not recognize the military-backed constitution," Nyan Win said. "The U.N. envoy was wasting his time on matters that he was not supposed to deal with."

Diplomats who met with Gambari echoed the concerns of the NLD, saying that he has achieved very little.

Suu Kyi's refusal to meet Gambari is the latest stumble in his bid to promote democracy in Myanmar and secure her release from house arrest.

Gambari has met with Suu Kyi on previous visits, but his trips have resulted in little more than photo opportunities.

Gambari's troubles are part of a larger struggle by the U.N. to convince the junta to change its ways. The military has ruled the nation since 1962 and has been widely criticized for suppressing basic freedoms.

U.N. envoys have visited the country nearly 40 times since 1990, along with other senior officials, while the U.N. General Assembly has passed numerous resolutions calling for change.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been in a political deadlock since 1990, when Suu Kyi's party overwhelmingly won general elections but was not allowed to take power by the military.

The regime has promoted a democratic road map that will culminate with the 2010 elections. But the new constitution guarantees 25 percent of parliamentary seats to the military and allows the president to hand over all power to the military in a state of emergency.

 

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