UN General Assembly President Calls for Dialogue in Burma

By LALIT K JHA / WASHINGTON

The United Nations General Assembly president, Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, urged Burma’s military junta and pro-democracy opposition leaders on Thursday to immediately start substantive dialogue without any preconditions.

“The president also joins [UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon] in calling on both the [Burmese] government and the opposition to resume substantive dialogue without preconditions and without further delay,” said a statement issued by Brockmann’s office.

The statement was released after a meeting between General Assembly Vice President Raymond Wolf and the UN special envoy on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, at the UN headquarters in New York. It also came on the eve of crucial UN Security Council consultations on Burma.

It is customary for the UN special envoy, whose mandate flows from the General Assembly, to brief its president on his activities from time to time, particularly after completing a trip to Burma. Gambari recently made a four-day visit to the country that ended on February 3.

It was unclear why Gambari did not meet directly with the General Assembly president on this occasion. The UN General Assembly has as many as 21 vice presidents, one of whom happens to be the Burmese ambassador to the UN. The office of the General Assembly president said the meeting took place on his behalf.

Brockmann’s statement also reaffirmed the General Assembly’s continued engagement with Burma and its efforts to promote national reconciliation, democracy and respect for human rights in the country, as mandated by its resolutions.

Reiterating his support for the good offices role of the UN secretary-general and his special envoy, Brockmann also noted the important role played by neighboring countries, including members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as by countries belonging to the secretary general’s Group of Friends of Myanmar.

In his statement, the president encouraged these countries to remain engaged in support of the secretary-general’s good offices efforts.