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Annan: Burma democracy
talks have halted
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
New Delhi, October 2, 2003
New Delhi: On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged
Burma's military rulers once more to immediately release pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and revive the national reconciliation
program.
Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been under
house arrest,
her third, since 26 September after having undergone gynaecological
surgery
at a private hospital in Rangoon. The national reconciliation
process has stalled for many months.
Mr. Annan said that due to the continued arrest of Daw Aung
SanSuu Kyi "the-
three-year-old home-grown process of national reconciliation,
as understood
by the United Nations, has come to a complete halt".
"The people of (Burma) had waited too long for change and
for the benefits that changes will bring", he said in a
written report. He also added that "unless the parties
concerned are able to engage in a substantive dialogue, theinternational
community will have to conclude that the home-grown national
process no longer exists".
Mr Annan's remarks come amid signs of mounting regional tensions
over Burma
ahead of next week's summit of ASEAN leaders in Bali
A special envoy of United Nation Secretary-General , Mr. Razali
Ismail, made his eleventh visit to Burma and urged the military
to free Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.
Mr. Ismail’s visit followed failed attempts by former
Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas and Thai Foreign Minister
Surakiart Sathirathai to secure a date for Suu Kyi's release.
Witnesses in Rangoon reported that Mr. Razali's convoy gained
entry into Noble Laureate House located on University Avenue
Road, which is usually off-limits except officials and neighbours.The
chairman of the ethnic Shan Nationalities League of Democracy,
Khun Tun Oo, told AP that the UN envoy will discuss the “road
map” proposed by Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt with
Mrs. Suu Kyi.
Detained at a closed location, Aung San Suu Kyi has been held
incommunicado
from her supporters and friends for more than three months,
following a violent attack on her and her party by the government
backed mob at Depayin in Upper Burma on 30 May.
Meanwhile, at the UN General Assembly on Monday, Burma's Foreign
Minister U
Win Aung complained that other countries had failed to recognize
the regime’s moves towards democracy.
"It is only through an all-inclusive dialogue that the
Government of (Burma) will be able to ensure that national reconciliation
is durable, the transition to democracy smooth and Burma's future
as a stable, prosperous and multi-ethnic nation is secure",
countered Mr. Annan. |
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