Word: gambari
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...When U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari visited Burma in 2007, one of the people he met was Kokang honcho Peng, who was trotted out to represent the junta's amity with ethnic groups. But this summer, Peng publicly rejected the idea of turning his army into a border force. By early August, the junta was accusing Peng of being behind an illegal arms-and-drugs factory. The illicit activity, claimed the regime, compelled it to invade Kokang turf, even though the warlord's business proclivities had been an open secret for years. Indeed, both the Eastern Shan...
Compared to its usual benighted state, recent events in Burma appear to offer a glimmer of hope. On his return from a six-day visit, United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari told the Security Council on Nov. 13 that the situation in Burma was "qualitatively different" from how it was during September's brutal crackdown against Buddhist monk-led democracy protests. Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate opposition leader, was allowed to meet with members of her party for the first time in three years, and released a statement saying she looked forward to "a meaningful and time-bound...
...these conciliatory gestures are likely to be fleeting. Junta leader General Than Shwe refused to meet with Gambari during his visit. The generals say they have no intention of ending Suu Kyi's house arrest; she has been detained for 12 of the past 18 years. And despite assurances to the contrary, the junta continues to jail dissidents like labor-rights activist Su Su Nway and U Gambira, a key leader of the democracy protests...
...that happens, what can the world do? There is already unprecedented international pressure on Burma, although its impact on this isolated and xenophobic regime is questionable. While I was in Rangoon, U.N. Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari met with both Suu Kyi (twice) and junta chief Than Shwe, but Gambari's efforts look unlikely to kick-start a dialogue between the two. Similarly, China's influence over Burma--and its willingness to use it--is probably exaggerated. Its U.N. Ambassador, Wang Guangya, has characterized Burma's troubles as "basically internal...
...During his Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 visit to Burma, U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari met both Than Shwe and Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won elections in 1990 that the junta ignored. Exile groups speculated these rare meetings might signal at least a token effort by the generals to address widespread international condemnation of last week's crackdown. Rumors that Than Shwe, who has been ill for years, has picked junta No. 3 Shwe Mann - a purported economic pragmatist - as his favored successor have also raised hopes. But a change of guard may not mean much...