Gambari begins a five-day visit to Burma

by Mizzima News

Saturday, 16 August 2008 11:54

New Delhi — Ibrahim Gambari, the United Nations special envoy to Burma, on Friday has departed for a five-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation.   Gambari will arrive Rangoon on August 18 to begin his fourth visit since the Burmese military regime has crackdown on monk-led protests in September 2007.   Gambari in a statement said he looks forward to "returning to Myanmar and continuing his consultations with the Government and other relevant parties in the implementation of the good offices mandate entrusted to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by the General Assembly."   The Nigerian diplomat's visit to the military-ruled country will coincide with the one year anniversary of the beginning of 2007 saffron revolution.   On August 19, 2007 the first street march broke out when prominent student leaders including Min Ko Naing took on to the street, to show solidarity with the millions of people hit-hard by the government's sudden fuel price hike.   The marched ignited small and sporadic similar marches through out the country, but later picked momentum when Buddhist monks joined in and call for a boycott against the government and became the largest ever anti-government protests since the popular uprising in 1988.   Gambari rushed to Burma following the junta's brutal crackdown on protestors in late September and met with both government officials as well as detained opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.    Following his visit, the junta appointed Aug Kyi as a liaison minister to go between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi led opposition.   Aung Kyi and Aung San Suu Kyi then met for a brief five times but critics said the meetings fail to produce any meaningful results.   Gambari's visit was initially planned for May, but was cancelled after the deathly cyclone Nargis hit Burma leaving at least 138,000 deaths or missing and devastating more than 2.4 million people.   While Gambari is visiting the country at the invitation of the Burmese government, it is still unclear as with whom the UN envoy will be allowed meeting.   In his last visit, Gambari was able to meet with government officials as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party – National League for Democracy – executive members.   Burmese military junta, which has ruled the country since 1962, has detained opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for more than 12 of the past 19 years. < Prev   Next >