Ban has been asked by the U.N. Security Council to do his utmost to pursue reforms in military-ruled Myanmar, which drew international condemnation a year ago for a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters led by monks.
Ban's special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, made a sixth visit to the former Burma in August, but failed to meet the 63-year-old Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under house arrest for most of the past five years.
A visit by Ban has long been discussed but no date had been set. Ban made a first visit to Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis in May to pressure the junta to cooperate more with international aid workers.
Ban said he would remain "constantly and personally engaged" in Myanmar.
"I would be willing to (make) a return visit to Myanmar at an appropriate time, but you should also know that without any tangible or very favorable result to be achieved, then I may not be in a position to visit Myanmar," Ban told reporters.
"I'm now in the process of making some groundwork which may allow me to consider my own visit, but ... I need some more time. I will have to consider all the circumstances, (and) when would be appropriate timing for me to visit," he said.
Western countries have condemned as a sham a May referendum on Myanmar's army-drafted constitution, part of a seven-step "roadmap to democracy" that is meant to culminate in multiparty elections in 2010 and end a nearly 20-year political stalemate.
Gambari has met government officials on his visits to Myanmar but has made little progress in promoting dialogue with Suu Kyi or the release of political prisoners.
Ban's special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, made a sixth visit to the former Burma in August, but failed to meet the 63-year-old Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under house arrest for most of the past five years.
A visit by Ban has long been discussed but no date had been set. Ban made a first visit to Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis in May to pressure the junta to cooperate more with international aid workers.
Ban said he would remain "constantly and personally engaged" in Myanmar.
"I would be willing to (make) a return visit to Myanmar at an appropriate time, but you should also know that without any tangible or very favorable result to be achieved, then I may not be in a position to visit Myanmar," Ban told reporters.
"I'm now in the process of making some groundwork which may allow me to consider my own visit, but ... I need some more time. I will have to consider all the circumstances, (and) when would be appropriate timing for me to visit," he said.
Western countries have condemned as a sham a May referendum on Myanmar's army-drafted constitution, part of a seven-step "roadmap to democracy" that is meant to culminate in multiparty elections in 2010 and end a nearly 20-year political stalemate.
Gambari has met government officials on his visits to Myanmar but has made little progress in promoting dialogue with Suu Kyi or the release of political prisoners.
FOOD CRISIS IN CHIN STATE
The food situation in 20 villages around Haka Township last week and discovered that seven of the villages faced a severe and immediate food crisis.
According to CAD’s assessment, farmers from the seven most affected Chin villages have been forced to let 500 acres of land lie fallow after an infestation of rats destroyed rice crops followed by a drought earlier this year.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy by telephone on Tuesday, Win Hling Oo, the director and founder of CAD, said, “People have sold their domestic animals to survive. They can’t find jobs in the area and they are too far from the [Indian] border to walk there in search of food. By the end of this month they will have no food left.”
The seven villages at risk—Jan Ra, Kon Toy, Lwin Hong, Tong Jin, Lon Hong, Hong Zen and Tong Ra—lie some 50 miles (80 km) south of Haka, an area out of reach of international humanitarian agencies, said the CAD director.
“While we were there, I saw farmers dumping their land because of the drought and the rats. It hasn’t been a good rainy season either,” said Win Hling Oo.
The villagers hoarded food supplies last year, he said. However, they will have run out by the end of this month.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy by telephone on Tuesday, Win Hling Oo, the director and founder of CAD, said, “People have sold their domestic animals to survive. They can’t find jobs in the area and they are too far from the [Indian] border to walk there in search of food. By the end of this month they will have no food left.”
The seven villages at risk—Jan Ra, Kon Toy, Lwin Hong, Tong Jin, Lon Hong, Hong Zen and Tong Ra—lie some 50 miles (80 km) south of Haka, an area out of reach of international humanitarian agencies, said the CAD director.
“While we were there, I saw farmers dumping their land because of the drought and the rats. It hasn’t been a good rainy season either,” said Win Hling Oo.
The villagers hoarded food supplies last year, he said. However, they will have run out by the end of this month.
Meanwhile, the Chin Human Rights Organization, which is based on the Thai-Burmese border, said that international humanitarian aid organizations can’t reach many of these villages, because they are too many days’ walk through mountain trails from the Indian border.
Victor Biak Lian, a member of the Chin Human Rights Organization, said, “We don’t know how bad the situation is for the people in these villages. We have not been able to reach them.”
Biak Lian said that 2,000 Chin people fled last month to seek refuge or find work in Mizoram, on the Indian side of the border.
Chin leaders said they have not received food relief from the Burmese military government. Meanwhile, the Burmese authorities have banned ethnic Chin people from receiving food supplies from foreign countries.
According to a Mizoram-based Chin relief group, the Chin Famine Emergency Relief Committee, about 100,000 of the 500,000 people in Chin State currently face food shortages.
The food crisis broke out in December 2007 when an infestation of rats destroyed crops. A famine generally occurs about every 50 years in Chin State when the flowering of a native species of bamboo gives rise to an explosion in the rat population, say experts. The rats devour the nutrient-rich bamboo fruit before going on to decimate local rice crops.
In July, the International Rice Research Institute warned of “widespread food shortages” in the region.
Then in August, the Chin National Council reported that 31 children had died from conditions caused by a lack of food, such as diarrhea.
On September 10, British newspaper The Guardian reported that several Chin villages were facing a drastic crisis following the infestation of rats. Then on September 22, the Mawta Famine Relief Committee reported that at least five children had died of famine-related illness, such as diarrhea, in Paletwa Township in Chin State.
Sources said that thousands of local people in Chin State are currently surviving on nothing more than boiled rice and wild plants.
Victor Biak Lian, a member of the Chin Human Rights Organization, said, “We don’t know how bad the situation is for the people in these villages. We have not been able to reach them.”
Biak Lian said that 2,000 Chin people fled last month to seek refuge or find work in Mizoram, on the Indian side of the border.
Chin leaders said they have not received food relief from the Burmese military government. Meanwhile, the Burmese authorities have banned ethnic Chin people from receiving food supplies from foreign countries.
According to a Mizoram-based Chin relief group, the Chin Famine Emergency Relief Committee, about 100,000 of the 500,000 people in Chin State currently face food shortages.
The food crisis broke out in December 2007 when an infestation of rats destroyed crops. A famine generally occurs about every 50 years in Chin State when the flowering of a native species of bamboo gives rise to an explosion in the rat population, say experts. The rats devour the nutrient-rich bamboo fruit before going on to decimate local rice crops.
In July, the International Rice Research Institute warned of “widespread food shortages” in the region.
Then in August, the Chin National Council reported that 31 children had died from conditions caused by a lack of food, such as diarrhea.
On September 10, British newspaper The Guardian reported that several Chin villages were facing a drastic crisis following the infestation of rats. Then on September 22, the Mawta Famine Relief Committee reported that at least five children had died of famine-related illness, such as diarrhea, in Paletwa Township in Chin State.
Sources said that thousands of local people in Chin State are currently surviving on nothing more than boiled rice and wild plants.
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