Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi failed to retrieve food delivered to her home amid speculation she may have launched a hunger strike.Nyan Win, spokesman for the National League for Democracy, said Tuesday he could not confirm whether Suu Kyi was refusing to eat, but said bags of food delivered Monday to a checkpoint outside her heavily guarded house were not picked up.
Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years, and she relies on the NLD's food deliveries for survival. It remains unclear whether Suu Kyi has launched a hunger strike since her supporters are barred from meeting her.
Burmese dissident groups based in neighboring Thailand said Monday she began a hunger strike on Aug. 15 and hasn't accepted food since.
"If Daw Aung San Suu Kyi continues to refuse food from her comrades, her health will be of serious concern," one group, the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area), said in a statement.
Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years, and she relies on the NLD's food deliveries for survival. It remains unclear whether Suu Kyi has launched a hunger strike since her supporters are barred from meeting her.
Burmese dissident groups based in neighboring Thailand said Monday she began a hunger strike on Aug. 15 and hasn't accepted food since.
"If Daw Aung San Suu Kyi continues to refuse food from her comrades, her health will be of serious concern," one group, the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area), said in a statement.
Burma's opposition lambasts UN envoy for irrelevant 'praise' job
Burma's main opposition party – the National League for Democracy – on Monday lambasted the United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari for praising the activities of the 'Tripartite Core Group' saying the diplomat failed to see beyond the junta's projection of the situation in Burma.Nyan Win, spokesperson for the NLD, said Gambari is out of touch with the ground realities in Burma and his failure to resist the junta from planning his itinerary during his trip further prevented him from getting up close to the true situation.Gambari said the 'Tripartite Core Group', that leads relief efforts for cyclone victims, had provided an effective model for cooperation and collaboration between the international community and Burma.TCG, formed with representatives of the Burmese junta, ASEAN and the UN, should extend beyond the humanitarian response in the areas affected by Cyclone Nargis to include social and economic development assistance in the rest of the country, he added.The remarks of the Nigerian diplomat, who on Saturday concluded his six-day visit to the country, came following his meeting with members of the TCG August 18.But Nyan Win said, "He [Gambari] may not know the reality as that visit was planned and showcased by the junta. And it is impossible for him to understand the true situation in such a short time."Nyan Win said the UN envoy by visiting and making remarks on the humanitarian activities has been derailed in his mission to facilitate political dialogue between Burma's opposition groups and the government."We feel that he [Gambari] is trying to appease the junta so much that he is being derailed off his main track," Nyan Win added.Gambari, during his six-day visit to Burma, met junior ministers of the Burmese junta but failed to meet military supremo Snr. Gen. Than Shwe as well as detained opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.Sources said, the UN undersecretary general for political affairs, was not even invited to visit Burma's new jungle capital, Nay Pyi Taw, where Than Shwe and other senior military leaders of the junta, who call themselves the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) are ensconced.David Scott Mathieson, Burma consultant of the Human Rights Watch, said, the military junta had used the visit of Gambari for their benefit and to showcase their work."Any visiting envoy to Burma is like that. They are going to see the things that the SPDC wants them to see. So they only see the SPDC's made up shows," Mathieson said, apparently referring to previous UN envoys including Razali Ismail, predecessor to Gambari who until December 2005 served as the UN Secretary General's special envoy to Burma."Gambari needs to look at both sides," Mathieson added.
UN Denies Its Envoy's Visit to Myanmar Was Worthless
The United Nations rejected criticism by Myanmar's opposition party that last week's visit by envoy Ibrahim Gambari was worthless, saying it was part of the UN's objective of holding regular talks with the junta.
The visits are a ``process, not an event,'' Marie Okabe, deputy spokeswoman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said in New York yesterday. ``One should not make a judgment on the process based on each individual visit.''
Gambari didn't meet with Myanmar's military leader Senior General Than Shwe or Aung San Suu Kyi, the head of the opposition National League for Democracy. The envoy should be more effective and negotiate with the junta and the opposition, Nyan Win, the NLD's spokesman, said by phone from Myanmar yesterday.
Gambari was making his fourth visit since the junta deployed soldiers last September to end the most serious pro- democracy demonstrations in 20 years in the country formerly known as Burma. The U.S. says the military government has failed to meet pledges made after the unrest to pursue national reconciliation and open talks with Suu Kyi.
``Mr. Gambari has told us he has had extensive and open discussions with the government and other interlocutors, which in itself is necessary in order to broaden and deepen the process as expected by the secretary-general,'' Okabe said, according to a UN transcript. Ban intends to return to Myanmar for a visit ``when conditions are right,'' she said.
Political Body
Gambari met with the Union Solidarity and Development Association, a political body set up by the junta that will probably represent the military's interests in elections scheduled for 2010.
``We told Mr. Gambari to do his work, his job and that meeting with other bodies is useless,'' Nyan Win said yesterday. Opposition parties may not support more visits by Gambari in the future, he said.
Suu Kyi, 63, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the 18 years since the NLD won elections that weren't recognized by the military, didn't show up for a meeting with Gambari on Aug. 20. Nyan Win said he didn't know why she didn't attend.
Other opposition members said Suu Kyi was either ill or sending a message she was unhappy with the UN's efforts to promote talks with the regime.
``Suu Kyi didn't show up because Mr. Gambari is going around with the military's agenda and he's being exploited by the military,'' said Zin Linn, a spokesman for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, a government-in- exile formed by winners of the 1990 election, said yesterday.
State of Health
Myanmar's government made the arrangements for the meeting with Gambari, Okabe said at her briefing.
``To his regret, the meeting did not take place,'' she said. ``We are not going to speculate as to why she was not able to attend.''
The junta denied that Suu Kyi is on hunger strike, Agence France-Presse reported from the former capital, Yangon, today. The reports are rumors that aren't true, the news agency cited an unidentified government official as saying.
The NLD is ``very concerned'' about Suu Kyi's health ``because we have no access to her,'' Nyan Win said last week by phone from Myanmar.
Suu Kyi, who underwent gynecological surgery in 2003 and needed treatment in the hospital in 2006, was suffering from low blood pressure and was unable to leave her bed, Japan's Nikkei news agency reported at the time, citing an unidentified person close to the military regime.
The military has ruled the nation of 47 million people since 1962.
The visits are a ``process, not an event,'' Marie Okabe, deputy spokeswoman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said in New York yesterday. ``One should not make a judgment on the process based on each individual visit.''
Gambari didn't meet with Myanmar's military leader Senior General Than Shwe or Aung San Suu Kyi, the head of the opposition National League for Democracy. The envoy should be more effective and negotiate with the junta and the opposition, Nyan Win, the NLD's spokesman, said by phone from Myanmar yesterday.
Gambari was making his fourth visit since the junta deployed soldiers last September to end the most serious pro- democracy demonstrations in 20 years in the country formerly known as Burma. The U.S. says the military government has failed to meet pledges made after the unrest to pursue national reconciliation and open talks with Suu Kyi.
``Mr. Gambari has told us he has had extensive and open discussions with the government and other interlocutors, which in itself is necessary in order to broaden and deepen the process as expected by the secretary-general,'' Okabe said, according to a UN transcript. Ban intends to return to Myanmar for a visit ``when conditions are right,'' she said.
Political Body
Gambari met with the Union Solidarity and Development Association, a political body set up by the junta that will probably represent the military's interests in elections scheduled for 2010.
``We told Mr. Gambari to do his work, his job and that meeting with other bodies is useless,'' Nyan Win said yesterday. Opposition parties may not support more visits by Gambari in the future, he said.
Suu Kyi, 63, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the 18 years since the NLD won elections that weren't recognized by the military, didn't show up for a meeting with Gambari on Aug. 20. Nyan Win said he didn't know why she didn't attend.
Other opposition members said Suu Kyi was either ill or sending a message she was unhappy with the UN's efforts to promote talks with the regime.
``Suu Kyi didn't show up because Mr. Gambari is going around with the military's agenda and he's being exploited by the military,'' said Zin Linn, a spokesman for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, a government-in- exile formed by winners of the 1990 election, said yesterday.
State of Health
Myanmar's government made the arrangements for the meeting with Gambari, Okabe said at her briefing.
``To his regret, the meeting did not take place,'' she said. ``We are not going to speculate as to why she was not able to attend.''
The junta denied that Suu Kyi is on hunger strike, Agence France-Presse reported from the former capital, Yangon, today. The reports are rumors that aren't true, the news agency cited an unidentified government official as saying.
The NLD is ``very concerned'' about Suu Kyi's health ``because we have no access to her,'' Nyan Win said last week by phone from Myanmar.
Suu Kyi, who underwent gynecological surgery in 2003 and needed treatment in the hospital in 2006, was suffering from low blood pressure and was unable to leave her bed, Japan's Nikkei news agency reported at the time, citing an unidentified person close to the military regime.
The military has ruled the nation of 47 million people since 1962.
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