UN: No political progress in Myanmar; UNA: Gambari should push for tripartite dialogue; Myanmarese dissident groups establish permanent mission at the UN
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    • UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed frustration over Myanmar’s political deadlock, and urged for the beginning of a genuine political process in the country. Mr. ki-Moon’s comments followed the briefing given by UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to the UN Security Council. The Secretary General told reporters on September 12 that Myanmar had not experienced as much political progress as he had anticipated and called on the authorities to take real measures towards setting up a more inclusive political process that promoted human rights. Stating that he would not characterize Gambari’s Burma visit in August as a failure, Mr. Ban announced that he was planning to convene an ambassador-level meeting of the “Group of Friends on Myanmar” on September 121.

    Meanwhile, the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA) - a Rangoon-based coalition of 12 ethnic political parties, argued that instead of holding dialogue with the military government about elections in 2010, the UN envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, should instead urge the regime to initiate a tripartite dialogue aimed at reaching national reconciliation. This was stated by the UNA in an open letter addressed to UN Secretary-General on September 8. It urged the UN to exert “appropriate pressure” on the junta to engage in a tripartite dialogue. The ethnic political alliance also alluded to the junta’s “seven-step road map” toward democracy and charged that the national convention, the state constitution and the referendum were “sham processes” conducted “without the real will of the people in Burma.” The UNA had won 67 seats in the 1990 general elections2.

    Meanwhile, two Myanmarese dissident groups in exile - the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) and the Members of Parliament Union-Burma (MPU), filed a formal challenge at the UN against the regime’s credentials for a UN seat. These groups noted that the country’s legitimate government was elected in 1990 in a free and fair election, and that the military junta had illegally and ruthlessly disregarded the will of the people. The NCGUB and MPU also announced the establishment of their permanent mission to the UN with Thein Oo, secretary of the MPU, being named as the permanent representative of the groups in New York. The MPU was formed in exile by elected representatives of the National League for Democracy, and various ethnic parties3.

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