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UN was "Disrespectful" In Approach to
Aung San Suu Kyi, NLD Leader Says
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
December 8 -- As political leaders
east and west are calling for the UN to do more about the situation in
Myanmar,
Monday in New York leaders of that country's National League for
Democracy
criticized the UN's last trip to Yangoon. NLD leader Khun Mying Tun,
speaking
at New York University, was asked by Inner City Press to review the
UN's recent
performance. He referred to UN staff shouting at Daw Aun San Suu Kyi
through a
bullhorn and pasting fliers on the gate of the house in which she is
under
house arrest.
"That
is not a polite gesture in our culture," he said. "We viewed it as
the junta trying to embarrass our leader."
The event,
held in the 9th floor of NYU's student center with its swirling view of
Greenwich Village, was sponsored by Amnesty International. Inner City
Press
asked Khun Mying Tun if the NDL thinks Amnesty International and
similar groups
like Human Rights Watch should put more pressure on companies which
invest in
Myanmar, like France's Total and South Korea's Daewoo.
"They
use our people as cheap labor and slaves," he said. "Amnesty
International should definitely not support companies which invest in
Burma."
UN's Ban and Than Shwe: NDL says UN disrespected country's culture
Khun Mying
Tun was decidedly more diplomatic and elusive when asked about China.
They are
our neighbor, he said. They could be helpful as a mediator.
Prior to
his talk, a film called "In the Shadow of the Pagodas" was screened.
It portrayed and interviewed armed Karen and Shan rebels and showed
oblivious
tourists in Myanmar. Afterwards, Khun Mying Tun was asked by an Amnesty
International member for the NLD's view on tourism in Myanmar. "We
cannot
guarantee your safety," he said, citing the case of the Japanese
cameraman
killed in September 2007. "If you come for pleasure, you are helping
the
junta," he said. "If you come as the cameraman, you are
welcome." But safety is not assured. He concluded by referring to a
lawsuit against the Than Shwe regime under the U.S. Alien Torts Claims
Act, on
which we hope to report more.
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* * *
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here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali
National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
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