Was the recent visit of the UN Special Envoy Noeleen Heyzer to Myanmar little more than a photo opportunity as critics claim? Or worse, did it achieve anything apart from granting a level of legitimacy to the junta, something she denies?
The UN Special Envoy for Myanmar visited Myanmar for the first time Tuesday and Wednesday this week, briefly visiting Yangon and Naypyitaw.
On Wednesday, the UN special envoy met with Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, head of the State Administration Council (SAC), and called on him to urgently halt all violence, support a political path back to civilian rule and democracy, and allow the country’s imprisoned former leader Aung San Suu Kyi to return home and to be granted the chance to meet with her.
In her statement says she reiterated UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ extreme concern about Myanmar’s humanitarian, security, economic and political crisis and reiterated the UN chief’s call for the release of all political prisoners. She also urged Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to impose a moratorium on future executions, following the recent executions of four political activists that drew worldwide condemnation.
“The United Nations Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the humanitarian, security, economic and political crisis,” Special Envoy Heyzer said. “My visit is to convey the concern of the United Nations and propose concrete steps needed to reduce the conflict and suffering of the people. UN engagement does not in any way confer legitimacy. The people of Myanmar have the right to democracy and self-determination free from fear and want, which will only be possible by the good will and efforts of all stakeholders in an inclusive process.”
She added that the United Nations was focused on providing support to women in Myanmar, the protection and empowerment of whom is key to achieving peace and any economic and social transformation.
The Special Envoy stated that any progress in Myanmar depended on an end to the violence and visible and significant improvements in the lives of people on the ground. Following the recent death sentences carried out against pro-democracy activists that the United Nations has strongly condemned, the Special Envoy directly urged the Senior General to impose a moratorium on all future executions. She also reiterated the United Nations Secretary-General’s call for the release of all political prisoners, the statement notes.
“I urged the SAC to implement the Secretary-General’s appeal,” the Special Envoy said. “I also conveyed a specific request from the Australian Government that has asked for the release of Australian economist Sean Turnell. Personally, I call for the release of all children who are being detained in prisons or other facilities.”
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq, commenting after the visit, said Ms Heyzer was not able to meet Aung San Suu Kyi but hopes they will meet in the future.
Mr Haq said Ms Heyzer and the general had “a good discussion” and the UN will see whether her key demands will be carried out. He said the UN will “continue to push on those points.”
Looking forward, Ms Heyzer’s statement said she and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing “agreed to engage in frank conversations, focusing on the need for inclusive solutions to a peaceful and democratic Myanmar, reflective of the will of the people.”
State-run MRTV television said Ms Heyzer and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing exchanged views on “promoting trust and cooperation between Myanmar and the United Nations”. It did not provide any details on the talks in Naypyitaw.
In a comment that may have raised a few eyebrows, the junta's foreign affairs minister called on the UN to "constructively and pragmatically review its approach in its cooperation with Myanmar", the foreign ministry said.
All UN efforts to attempt to end the Myanmar crisis should be welcomed, and, as Ms Heyzer claims, UN engagement does not in any way confer legitimacy.
That said, critics have raised questions about the timing, the content, and the nature of the UN envoy’s visit, and the resulting photos of the envoy and the junta leader now being shared far and wide on Myanmar state media.
The visit appeared to show the junta holding the upper hand.
Unfortunately, the visit happened in the immediate wake of the latest round of sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of corruption and the executions in late July of four sentenced pro-democracy activists. In addition, there is no indication that offensive deadly military operations against the Myanmar people were put on pause for the visit.
Ironically, the response by a number of concerned players to the UN Special Envoy’s visit appears to be muted, as though few, if any, expected any progress with the raft of UN demands.
Ahead of the visit, National Unity Government (NUG) Deputy Foreign Minister Aung Myo Min said they would be closely observing the UN Special Envoy's visit to Myanmar, according to the NUG's PVTV news agency.
Aung Myo Min said: “They should issue increasingly critical statements rather than attending a scheduled meeting to inquire about what is happening in Myanmar. For the terrorist military council, adopting a civilized form of society is extremely challenging.
Therefore, it would be better to plan how the international community can remove the military regime and take action."
He added that the UN Special Envoy's visit would be no more than a photo opportunity. "There is no way that dialogue with the Military Council will stop the violence," he said.
Former US Ambassador to Myanmar Scot Marciel, who has previously said he put the Myanmar junta on a par with the brutal Khmer Rouge, questioned the necessity of the visit.
“There’s a long history of special envoys to Myanmar failing. Many have been good diplomats, but they are put in a difficult position. Criticize and they are denied entry. Gain entry and get nowhere. Time to rethink the entire approach,” he said in a Tweet on 18 August.
The NGO Burma Campaign UK went further is suggesting ditching Ms Heyzer and calling directly on the UN Secretary General himself to personally take the lead in diplomatic initiatives to address the crisis in Myanmar and abandon the decades long failed approach of appointing UN Special Envoys.
The NGO said the UN Special Envoy has concluded her controversial visit to the Burmese military unable to cite a single tangible outcome, and that this should come as no surprise as this has been the outcome of the vast majority of UN Special Envoy visits to Burma for decades.
“Ignoring warnings that the visit would give an appearance of legitimacy to the military, Noeleen Heyzer proceeded with the trip, and posed for photographs with military leader Min Aung Hlaing. These pictures are now displayed across military-controlled state media, handing him a propaganda coup,” the NGO said.
“Prior to 2010, previous UN Envoys held out for meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi and others. Noeleen Heyzer chose not to do so. Officials may cite as an excuse the fact that the focus of the visit was humanitarian, but this compromise will be seen by the military as a sign of weakness. A senior UN official accepting the sidelining of key political actors in the country will only encourage the military to believe it can continue to jail, torture and execute them with impunity,” Burma Campaign UK said.
