Nearly three weeks after leaving Burma, United Nations Special Envoy to Burma – Ibrahim Gambari – met with reporters at the U.N.'s headquarters in New York, making sure to convey the message that he shares the opposition's frustration over the lack of progress in addressing the country's political ills.
Following a closed-door meeting with the 15-nation Security Council, Gambari told reporters, "There may be a sense of frustration, of course, which we all share about the pace of change in the country."
The Special Envoy also acknowledged that his latest efforts, roundly criticized by Burma's democratic opposition, failed to meet both his and the U.N.'s goals.
"[T]he tangible results of my last visit fell below expectations," remarked Gambari without any further clarification.
Echoing the sentiments of his Special Envoy, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also informed the New York gaggle, "On Myanmar, I am as concerned as you are, and as frustrated as everybody else…We have not seen the political progress I had hoped for."
"It is imperative for the Government of Myanmar at this point to deliver substantive results in responsive to our key concerns and suggestions, particularly with regard to the release of political prisoners and the resumption of dialogue between the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," elaborated Ban.
When asked whether he knew the impetus for National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's refusal to meet with him in August, Gambari said no reason for her position had been conveyed to him.
"To be honest with you, I don't know because this is not consistent with her previous relation to me," was the Special Envoy's curt assessment of the affair.
After the briefing by Mr. Gambari, United States Ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, said the Burmese junta is failing to live up to its international expectations. He also reaffirmed the United States' insistence that all political prisoners must be freed and a substantive dialogue enacted without delay.
"It is our judgment that more pressure needs to be applied on the regime, since on both of these issues the obstacle is the policies of the regime," Khalilzad commented following the closed-door briefing. "We have had a lively discussion, there are some differences of view as to what adjustment is needed, but there is no question that the efforts so far have not produced any significant concrete results."
Secretary General Ban did provide a glimpse into the general assessment of the United Nations in conflict stricken countries when he responded to a question regarding Lebanon, a country's whose political turmoil he also referred to as frustrating.
"Any peace process is desirable," summarized Ban of the ensnared national dialogue process in the Mediterranean country.
Further hinting at the primacy the U.N. places on engagement and the notion of process, Ban informed those assembled, "I would like not to characterize Mr. Gambari's visit as a failure. If you talk about failure, then, if we stop making progress through all possible diplomatic means, that should be viewed as a failure."
Today, the Secretary General is poised to convene a meeting of the 'Friends of Burma,' a consortium of international actors deemed to have interest and/or influence in the impoverished country. The group consists of India, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Australia, Norway, Japan, South Korea and the EU presidency.
