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On Myanmar, ASEAN
Diplomat Predicts Gambari's Replacement, Road Talk at BIMTEC
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS, August 30 --
Having left Myanmar six days about, after not seeing either Aung San
Suu Kyi or
General Than Shwe, UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari still had no comment about
what if
anything his trip had accomplished, despite critical words so far from at least two of the Security Council's five permanent
members. Inner City Press asked UN spokesperson Marie Okabe on Friday
if there
was any response or explanation yet, but Ms. Okabe said "Mister Gambari
wants to speak to you directly." Video here.
Meanwhile, as Inner City Press has inquired
throughout the diplomatic
community about the reasons for Aung San Suu Kyi having declined to
meet with
Gambari, a Permanent Representative of an ASEAN member state, asking to
be
identified as such, told Inner City Press that word is Mr. Gambari will
be
replaced as UN envoy to Myanmar. "I don't blame Aung San Suu Kyi,"
the ASEAN diplomat said. "If I were her, I also wouldn't meet with an
envoy who's about to be replaced."
We will be watching Gambari's
belated briefing of Ban Ki-moon in Turin, and how the UN finally
responds, more than a week late, to the questions that are swirling.
The problems are deeper than Gambari, going to the bottom of this UN's
commitment to human rights, and the way it let the military government
dictate UN currency losses of 20 and even 25%.
Gambari and Ban brain trust, now under Turin's shroud
Meanwhile on August 29
Myanmar's Foreign Minister Nyan Win was in India for the BIMTEC meeting
with
representatives of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and
India.
Earlier in the year, Myanmar's Vice Senior General Maung Aye was in
India and
signed several business deals including, for transit, the $100 million
Kaladan
Multi-project with Indian leaders.
Now,
Bangladesh is proposing road connections
with Myanmar, while India pushes for roads that pass straight through
Bangladesh. Complaints have been filed with the UN, but a former UN
presence,
Bangladesh's Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury who is also in charge of the
Chittagong
Hill Tracts, tried to calm things down by saying Bangladesh's
sovereignty will
always be respected. This is the regional context and dynamic in
which
Myanamar's military government gets over...
Watch
this
site. And this (on
South Ossetia),
this, on
Russia-Georgia,
and
this --
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