Burma Rebels Denounce UN

The Times of London is carrying a report that they interviewed two leaders of the uprising against the military junta in Burma who are on the run from the forces hunting them. They have some choice words for the United Nations.

Two activists who spoke to The Times from their hideout in Burma’s southern Mon state called on the international community to apply greater pressure to the military Government of General Than Shwe to release their leaders, who were snatched from their homes during the demonstrations.

They denounced the United Nations, and its special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, for cosying up to the junta. “We hoped for so much and what we feel is that he achieved nothing,” said a female activist, who identified herself by the name Khaind.

“He should have visited the places of the demonstrations — like Pakkoku [where Burmese monks first demonstrated] and the Shwedagon Pagoda. He should have visited Insein Prison [in Rangoon], then he would have seen the truth.

“He should have demanded that our leaders, the political prisoners, were released. We’ve made a lot of sacrifices and many people have been killed and it’s not right for him to come and see just what the junta wants him to see.”

Ms Khaind slipped past police checkpoints to escape from Rangoon last Saturday, accompanied by Myint Htoo Aung and another male colleague, all veterans of the so-called 1988 Generation, which first rallied against the junta 20 years ago.

They claimed that they were involved in organising demonstrations last Thursday close to Rangoon’s Sule Pagoda, where unarmed protesters were fired on with smoke bombs, rubber bullets and live rounds. A Japanese photographer was shot dead during the protest.

Both Mr Myint Htoo Aung and Ms Khaind insisted that the number of demonstrators killed was far higher than the figure of 13 admitted to by the ruling junta.

Hey, be fair here. Gambari was visiting a trade seminar put on by the European Union while the junta was cracking skulls. A man can't be in two places at once. And the UN is wringing its hands twice before enabling the next human rights crisis. </sarcasm> The UN envoy has arranged a meeting between the junta and the leader of the opposition party, Aung San Suu Kyi. That is the sum total of the progress they have made. The activists the Times interviewed didn't think much of that, either.

The activists interviewed by The Times denounced the proposal as a ploy intended to buy time and damp down international pressure. “This is just a trick to prolong the situation, so the world will calm down,” Ms Khaind, her voice trembling with emotion, said. “Every day in the news new things come along. One day there’s a bomb in Iraq, then there’s an airplane crash. They’re just making time so that people’s attention is diverted. If they’re going to talk, why not talk now? If they’re going to release prisoners, do it now? There is no reason to delay.”

The United States today again called for UN action, in the face of strong opposition from China and Russia.

The United States threatened to introduce a resolution seeking sanctions, including an arms embargo, against Myanmar if it does not move quickly toward national reconciliation and release thousands of detainees.

But China and Russia remain opposed to council action, saying the situation in Myanmar is an internal affair that does not threaten international peace and security.

The stories about Burma are already few and far between in the western press. The UN is wringing its hands and getting ready for its next round of enabling of tyrannical regimes. The EU is conducting trade seminars and setting up meetings with Robert Mugabe. Business as usual. And the junta continues hunting down dissidents while the west talks.