Burmese Opposition Views Gambari Visit with Skepticism

By LALIT K JHA and WAI MOE

Burmese opposition politicians and commentators view with skepticism the news that UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari is to return to Burma at the end of this month.

It will be Gambari’s seventh visit to Burma on a long-running mission, begun in 2006, to break the deadlock between the regime and pro-democracy forces. He last visited Burma in August 2008, failing to meet either junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe or detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Confirming on Monday that the Burmese government had invited Gambari back to Burma, UN Spokeswoman Marie Okabe said “discussions are ongoing about the details of the visit."

One leading opposition figure, Aye Thar Aung, an Arakan leader and secretary of the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament, told The Irrawaddy, he did not expect anything from Gambari’s visit.

“In the past, the UN could do nothing for the Burmese political process,” he said, charging that the military government had used Gambari as “their mouthpiece before the international community.”

Thakin Chan Tun, a veteran politician and former Burmese ambassador to China, was also skeptical about Gambari’s latest visit, saying it would be “just another UN envoy’s trip to Burma.” Gambari’s previous six visits had produced no political progress, he said.

One open issue is the refusal by Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, to participate in the 2010 election unless there is first of all a review of the junta-sponsored constitution.

Gambari reportedly told the NLD and other opposition groups in August that if the NLD wanted to participate in the 2010 general election he would discuss the issue with the regime—prompting charges that he was favoring the regime and neglecting his role as mediator.

The NLD’s Win Tin said on Monday the party would not discuss the 2010 elections with Gambari, according the Norway based Democratic Voice of Burma.

“If the UN wants to give us their opinions and tell us their concerns about the 2008 constitution, we would at least like to listen to them. We would strongly encourage the UN if they will put in the effort for negotiations on this issue," Win Tin was quoted in a report by the Democratic Voice of Burma. "But if they are only here to talk about the elections, then we won't listen to them.”

Win Min, a Burmese political analyst based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, said he didn’t expect much to result from Gambari’s visit—although the resumption of his mission was better than doing nothing.

UN spokeswoman Okabe said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon believes more progress is necessary on the issues that Gambari raised with the Burmese military junta during his last visit.

Prominent among these is the need for dialogue between the regime and Aung San Suu Kyi, she said.

"He [the Secretary General] has, therefore, asked Mr Gambari to return to continue his discussions and engagement with the Myanmar government, opposition and other stakeholders as an integral part of this process in the implementation of the Secretary-General's mandate," she said.