UN Should Put More Pressure on Burma: France

By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS

Expressing complete dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in Burma, a top French diplomat said yesterday that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should put more pressure on the country’s ruling junta.

Speaking to reporters outside the Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, the French ambassador to the UN, Jean Maurice Ripert, also said that France does not accept the Burmese regime’s unilateral decision to hold a referendum on a draft constitution in May of this year, to be followed by a general election in 2010.

“They are trying to get a fait accompli: after the cyclone, let’s go to the election. No. The process was decided unilaterally and not [in consultation] with the opposition,” Ripert said, referring to Cyclone Nargis, which devastated a wide swath of the country a week before the referendum on May 10.

Ripert also offered conditional support for the diplomatic efforts of Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy on Burma, who visited the country last month without achieving any tangible results.

He said that Gambari should continue his “good offices” mission on behalf of the secretary-general, “but at the same time the secretary-general should put some more pressure on the Burmese authorities so that they commit themselves to the five points and to the benchmarks the Security Council has decided last year.”

The UN Security Council has repeatedly called on the regime to release democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and begin a meaningful dialogue with Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, and ethnic minority groups.

Referring to internal discussions within the Security Council, the French envoy said he disagreed with those who claim that there has been some improvement in the situation in Burma.

“I am absolutely unaware what kind of progress,” Ripert said.

“Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest. … There is no release of political prisoners. On the contrary, there are signs that there are still some arrests going on in Burma. There is no progress vis-a-vis political dialogue,” the French ambassador said.

Ripert said he wanted to see the Security Council put some conditions on cooperation with the Burmese authorities and impose a deadline for political progress. He conceded, however, that his position does not enjoy majority support in the Council.