Even if [UN Special Envoy Ibrahim] Gambari does return to Burma in April, he may have little to do there.During previous visits, he was virtually a prisoner of the government and stayed in isolated Naypyidaw, following a regime-ordained itinerary that included attendance at a rally in Shan State denouncing September’s pro-democracy uprising.Aside from earning him frequent flyer mileage on his Asian tours, Gambari’s mission is as dead as Burma’s pro-democracy movement. The diplomatic jargon and the endless repetition of such clichés as “tangible results,” “turning a new page” and “cautious optimism” no longer have any meaning. The mission is over.
- Extracted from Aung Zaw, “Gambari’s Mission is Dead in the Water”, The Irrawaddy, 20 February 2008.
2 responses so far ↓
1 roger // Feb 22, 2008 at 10:47 pm
what Aung Zaw says is surely true, but for some it is still necessary to offer support for Gambari’s mission. This report by the Internationational Crisis Group acknowledges the difficulties and nevertheless advocates for the continuity of the mission:
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5273&l=1
I don’t know if this is the way, but it seems that there is now a desperate lack of options on the part of those opposing the junta
2 Alice Johns // Feb 26, 2008 at 6:18 pm
If the Gambari mission was to try to get the SPDC and Aung San Suu Kyi to do a deal, it was always doomed from the start. I think anyone even remotely familiar with Burmese politics over the past 20 years could have told you that.
If his mission is to try and see how the UN could possibily help Burma overcome its multiple political/social/economic crises, then perhaps it could/can achieve something – but it will take a lot of time, not least because the SPDC now instinctively distrusts anything the international community
The Burmese democracy opposition has no options left but to do what it should have done a while back – come up with some ideas for long-term change and not the uprising/sanctions regime/miracle UN visit that’s going to turn things around 180 degrees.
just my humble opinion
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