U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday warned Myanmar's military rulers that they must deliver on their pledge to ensure " inclusive, free and fair" elections next year.
"The [Myanmar] government needs to deliver on the promise to make the 2010 elections inclusive, free and fair and to take the necessary steps on my specific proposals in the very near future," he said as he briefed the U.N. Security Council on his visit to Myanmar early this month.
"The choice for Myanmar's leaders in the coming days and weeks will be between meeting that responsibility in the interest of all concerned, or failing their own people and each one of you," Ban said.
"The world is now watching closely whether they will choose to act in the best interest of their country or ignore our concerns and expectations and the needs of their people," he added.
Ban also described as "not only a deep disappointment but also a major lost opportunity for Myanmar" the refusal by junta head Senior General Myanmar Than Shwe to allow him to see jailed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his visit.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces an internationally condemned trial for violating her house arrest rules, has been either jailed or under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years since the junta refused to recognize her National League for Democracy'S victory in Myanmar's last elections, in 1990.
She faces up to five years in jail if convicted of violating her house arrest rules, after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside home in May.
She has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention since the regime refused to recognize the NLD's landslide victory in the country's last elections, in 1990.
During his visit, Ban pressed Than Shwe to free political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and called for elections scheduled for 2010 to be free and fair.
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REGIME SAYS TO AMNESTRY PRISONERS BEFORE ELECTION
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Myanmar is planning to amnesty prisoners to enable them to take part in national elections next year, at the request of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the country's U.N. envoy said on Monday.
But, addressing the U.N. Security Council, Ambassador Than Swe did not say how many prisoners would be released, or when, or whether they would include key figures like opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
During a July 3-4 visit to Myanmar, Ban pressed the ruling Myanmar junta to free all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, who is currently on trial. Rights groups say there are more than 2,000 political prisoners in Myanmar.
"At the request of the Secretary-General, the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian ground and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections," Than Swe said, speaking in English.
He said the Myanmar government "intends to implement all appropriate recommendations that (the) Secretary-General had proposed." But during Ban's visit the junta refused to allow him to meet Suu Kyi, saying this could influence her trial.
The Myanmar government has amnestied prisoners before. It freed 19 political detainees in February as part of a release of 6,000 prisoners after a visit by a U.N. human rights rapporteur.
Critics say next year's elections, the final part of a seven-step "road map" to democracy, will be a sham designed to give legitimacy to the current authorities and entrench nearly half a century of army rule in the former Burma.
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