There was no immediate reaction from the office of the secretary-general to the letter, which is an initiative of Kjell Magne Bondevik, the former prime minister of Norway.
“We urge you to make it clear that all political prisoners in Burma must be released by the end of this year, regardless of whether you travel to Burma,” said the letter dated December 3.
“If the Burmese junta continues to defy the United Nations by refusing to make these releases by the end of the year, we urge you to encourage the Security Council to take further concrete action to implement its call for the release of all political prisoners,” the world leaders said.
Ban was initially scheduled to go to Burma this month, but with no progress in sight since his last visit in May—in fact, the situation appears to be worsening—the secretary- general has said that he is unlikely to return to the country in the near future.
“We encourage this trip because it would illustrate for the world whether or not the Burmese military regime is serious about making changes called for by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and your good offices,” said the letter.
The world leaders said they are heartened that Ban has taken up this issue and that he has reiterated in his budget request for the office of his special envoy to Burma that a key benchmark to measure progress in the country is whether all political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, are released by December 31, 2008.
Observing that the Burmese military junta’s continuing crackdown on dissidents is in defiance of the international community and the UNSC, the letter said: “The Burmese people are counting on the United Nations to take the required action to achieve the breakthrough they desperately need to both restore democracy to their country and address the serious humanitarian and human rights challenges that they face.”
Among important signatories to the letter are Corazon Aquino, Tony Blair, George H W Bush, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, John Howard, Chandrika Kumaratunga, John Major, Margaret Thatcher and Lech Walesa.
“This is a historic outpouring of global support for the people of Burma, and I am pleased that so many have joined me in spotlighting this important issue,” Bondevik said in a statement.
“Today we unite to call on the United Nations to take action. The first step towards achieving national reconciliation in Burma is creating a firm deadline for the release of all political prisoners,” he argued.
Bondevik is also president of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights.
Meanwhile, as the Security Council met Tuesday to discuss their agenda for the month of December, it became evident that there are no takers for the cause of the people of Burma inside this powerful 15-member UN body.
For two months now, Burma has been reduced to a footnote on the agenda of the UNSC.
While persecution of democracy advocates in Burma has intensified, with more than 200 dissidents receiving lengthy prison sentences in recent months for their involvement in protests last year, no country has come forward to raise the issue before the Security Council.
“On Myanmar [Burma], no delegation gave any comment. But it is in the footnotes and could be raised anytime during the month of December,” said the UNSC president for December, Ambassador Neven Jurica of Croatia.
However, informed sources indicated that the is unlikely to be raised, as the main supporters of the people of Burma inside the UNSC—in particular permanent members Britain, France and the US—are preoccupied with other issues, including terrorism, the global financial crisis and conflicts in Somalia.
The silence of the US—which has always taken the lead in highlighting the need for action on Burma in the past—is also due to the political transition in Washington, where a new administration is preparing to take power in January.
This may explain why the US mission to the UN has not taken up the issue even after the White House in a statement urged the UNSC to act on the issue of Burma.
“We urge you to make it clear that all political prisoners in Burma must be released by the end of this year, regardless of whether you travel to Burma,” said the letter dated December 3.
“If the Burmese junta continues to defy the United Nations by refusing to make these releases by the end of the year, we urge you to encourage the Security Council to take further concrete action to implement its call for the release of all political prisoners,” the world leaders said.
Ban was initially scheduled to go to Burma this month, but with no progress in sight since his last visit in May—in fact, the situation appears to be worsening—the secretary- general has said that he is unlikely to return to the country in the near future.
“We encourage this trip because it would illustrate for the world whether or not the Burmese military regime is serious about making changes called for by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and your good offices,” said the letter.
The world leaders said they are heartened that Ban has taken up this issue and that he has reiterated in his budget request for the office of his special envoy to Burma that a key benchmark to measure progress in the country is whether all political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, are released by December 31, 2008.
Observing that the Burmese military junta’s continuing crackdown on dissidents is in defiance of the international community and the UNSC, the letter said: “The Burmese people are counting on the United Nations to take the required action to achieve the breakthrough they desperately need to both restore democracy to their country and address the serious humanitarian and human rights challenges that they face.”
Among important signatories to the letter are Corazon Aquino, Tony Blair, George H W Bush, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, John Howard, Chandrika Kumaratunga, John Major, Margaret Thatcher and Lech Walesa.
“This is a historic outpouring of global support for the people of Burma, and I am pleased that so many have joined me in spotlighting this important issue,” Bondevik said in a statement.
“Today we unite to call on the United Nations to take action. The first step towards achieving national reconciliation in Burma is creating a firm deadline for the release of all political prisoners,” he argued.
Bondevik is also president of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights.
Meanwhile, as the Security Council met Tuesday to discuss their agenda for the month of December, it became evident that there are no takers for the cause of the people of Burma inside this powerful 15-member UN body.
For two months now, Burma has been reduced to a footnote on the agenda of the UNSC.
While persecution of democracy advocates in Burma has intensified, with more than 200 dissidents receiving lengthy prison sentences in recent months for their involvement in protests last year, no country has come forward to raise the issue before the Security Council.
“On Myanmar [Burma], no delegation gave any comment. But it is in the footnotes and could be raised anytime during the month of December,” said the UNSC president for December, Ambassador Neven Jurica of Croatia.
However, informed sources indicated that the is unlikely to be raised, as the main supporters of the people of Burma inside the UNSC—in particular permanent members Britain, France and the US—are preoccupied with other issues, including terrorism, the global financial crisis and conflicts in Somalia.
The silence of the US—which has always taken the lead in highlighting the need for action on Burma in the past—is also due to the political transition in Washington, where a new administration is preparing to take power in January.
This may explain why the US mission to the UN has not taken up the issue even after the White House in a statement urged the UNSC to act on the issue of Burma.
China, Burma take steps to strengthen military cooperation
Chinese and Burmese senior military officials on Saturday agreed to boost bilateral cooperation in various fields including military ties, a move observers said is meant to ensure the Burmese junta international support. Burma's third highest ranking military official, General Thura Shwe Mann, and his counterpart, Chen Bingde, Chief of the General Staff of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), on Saturday agreed to enhance military relations."The two countries should enhance military and state-to-state exchanges to promote regional peace, stability and prosperity," reports quoted Chen as saying.The agreement also includes the signing of a series of pacts on cooperation in the areas of economics, trade, culture, education, health, technology and tourism.However, Burmese military observers believe the two senior military officials also agreed on joint military exercises, in addition an agreement for Burma to purchase new military hardware as well as spare parts for the maintenance of earlier purchases. "It is very possible that they discussed and agreed on an arms deal, joint military exercises and the buying of some peripheral equipment for military hardware such as helicopters, jet fighters and warships that Burma earlier bought from China," Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Sino-Burmese border based military analyst said. Aung Kyaw Zaw added that both countries might have included the issue of ethnic ceasefire groups, referring to groups including the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and Kokang rebels, who operate along the Sino-Burmese border.Burma, according to Aung Thu Nyein, another Burma analyst based in Thailand, is currently faced with a shortage of spare parts for maintaining Chinese made jet fighters, warships and artillery earlier bought."Apparently, that is the reason Burma is seeking closer ties with China," Aung Thu Nyein said.However, another Burmese analyst believes that the close Sino-Burmese relationship is driven by China's economic interest in Burma and Burma's interest in obtaining political support."It is also a part of Burma's policy toward China, as China defends the Burmese regime in the international arena," said Nyo Ohn Myint, in-charge of Foreign Affairs for the National League for Democracy-Liberated Area.China and Russia, two veto wielding countries at the United Nations Security Council, in January 2007, rejected a draft resolution on Burma introduced by the United States and supported by the United Kingdom and France.Following the objection of the resolution on Burma by China and Russia, the Burmese junta announced its decision to sell its much sought after offshore gas in the Bay of Bengal to China. Rights to the gas from the Shwe fields had been contested by India, South Korea and Thailand.Similarly, in October, Burma agreed to allow China to build oil and gas pipelines that will link China's Yunnan province with Burma's western seaport of Sittwe in Arakan state. The proposed pipeline will be a major route through with China will import oil and gas from the Middle East and Africa.Critics further believe that the Burmese regime plans to accept new military hardware from China in exchange for the gas."The Burmese regime plans to accept military hardware from China in exchange for supplying gas," Aung Thu Nyein speculated.China, a close ally of Burma, has continued to supply military hardware and equipment to Burma even while the United States and European Union maintain an arms embargo against Burma's military's rulers in response to their appalling human rights record and failure to implement political reform.
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