No Decision Yet on Gambari Visit: UN

By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS

NEW YORK—No decision has been taken yet on the Burmese military junta’s invitation to Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy on Burma, to visit the country, a UN spokeswoman said on Thursday.

UN Secretary-General spokesperson Michèle Montas told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York that an invitation from the Burmese junta was received a few weeks ago.

"Gambari has not yet made a decision on whether he is going," Montas said in response to a question.

She said the decision would be taken by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in consultation with Gambari. "They decide together," she said.

It is understood that the delay in taking a decision is mainly because the UN envoy wants to ensure his next visit to Burma does not end in humiliation as happened in August.

Before accepting the invitation and announcing the exact date of his trip, the UN wants assurance from the Burmese regime on certain issues, which if taken, would be considered a step in the right direction.

Meanwhile, two prominent pro-democracy groups in Burma, the All Burma Monks’ Alliance and the 88 Generation Students, issued a joint statement calling on the UN Security Council to reinforce Ban’s mandate for realizing democratic change in Burma.

"We fully agree with the conclusion made by the Secretary-General [submitted to the General Assembly on October 20, 2008] that 'there is no alternative to dialogue to ensure that all stakeholders can contribute to the future of their country,'" the groups said.

However, the statement added: “Without strong enforcement from the Security Council, the military junta that rules our country of Burma will continue to undermine the Secretary-General’s good offices mandate and the United Nations, and more and more people of Burma will die unnecessarily."

The statement was backed by the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), a coalition of 12 ethnic political parties that won 67 seats in the 1990 election. In a statement released on Friday, the UNA said it “strongly welcomes and supports the report of the UN Secretary-General on Burma … on Oct 20, 2008.”

The UNA called on the UN Security Council to “take effective action against the Burmese regime if it fails to release all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and start a meaningful and time-bound dialogue by the end of December 2008.”