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Progress unlikely from Gambari's visit: Opposition |
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by Than Htike Oo
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Friday, 18 July 2008 12:50 |
Chiang Mai – No progress is expected from UN Special Envoy Mr. Ibrahum Gambari's visit to Burma slated for next month, the opposition at home and abroad felt. They were responding to the news of Burmese junta's invitation to UN envoy to visit the country in mid-August.
"Mr. Gambari has never performed his duty either significantly or remarkably till today. The visits of UN envoys including Mr. Gambari have never resulted in any change or brought about a turning point in Burma. So we do not expect anything from Mr. Gambari's forthcoming visit," U Aye Thar Aung, Secreatary of 'Committee for Representing People's Parliament' (CRPP), told Mizzima.
The CRPP is made up of MPs elected in the 1990 general election from winning parties, including the National League for Democracy (NLD) and ethnic parties, for convening a People's Parliament.
"Since Mr. Gambari's mission is mainly on political issues, I don't think his visit can produce any tangible political development in Burma," Thai based Burmese analyst U Aung Naing Oo said.
"I've never seen him going in for a fair and balanced approach during his visits which are always biased towards the junta. He advocated for a successful national referendum, contesting the 2010 general election inclusive of Daw Suu. I'd like to say he didn't negotiatiate with us during his visits," U Pu Tsian Thang, Chairman of election winning party the Zomi National Congress'(ZNC), said.
Mr. Gambari originally scheduled to visit Burma in May this year but had to postpone his visit because of the killer Cyclone Nargis lashing coastal areas of Burma on May 2-3.
After the saffron revolution in September 2007, Mr. Gambari visited the Southeast Asian country three times and facilitated meetings between junta's Liasion Minister and pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
But political analysts and pro-democracy activists said that these meetings didn't produce tangible results for national reconciliation.
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