U.N. envoy visiting Asian nations to help promote ``positive changes'' in Myanmar

U.N. envoy visiting Asian nations to help promote ``positive changes'' in Myanmar By EDITH M. LEDERER, AP Posted: 2007-07-09 19:17:54 UNITED NATIONS (AP) - U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari is visiting key Asian nations this week to help promote "positive changes" in Myanmar, including the release of all political prisoners and promotion of democratic reforms. Gambari, a special adviser to the secretary-general who visited Myanmar twice last year, met with China's vice foreign minister and other Foreign Ministry officials on Monday, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said. He is scheduled to fly to New Delhi on Tuesday for talks with Indian officials and then to Tokyo for talks with Japanese officials before returning to New York over the weekend. "This is a trip to discuss Myanmar with some of the key countries in the region," Okabe said. "Any effort to promote positive changes in Myanmar is going to require not only direct dialogue with the government and people of the country, but also dialogue with all interested countries and all who can potentially support our efforts." "This is why Mr. Gambari is consulting broadly having visited Washington two weeks ago and having traveled this week to the region," Okabe said. Former Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent Gambari, then undersecretary-general for political affairs, to talk to leaders of Myanmar's military government in May and November 2006. They allowed him two rare meetings with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in prison or under house arrest for more than 12 of the past 18 years. During his visit, Gambari appealed to the government to release all political prisoners, open its political process to all political parties, stop hostilities against ethnic minorities and allow unhindered humanitarian access. Myanmar's junta took power in 1988 after crushing the democracy movement led by Suu Kyi. In 1990, it refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide election victory. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who took over from Annan on Jan 1, has asked Gambari to continue U.N. efforts to promote national reconciliation, the restoration of democracy and the protection of human rights in Myanmar. Okabe said Gambari "intends to visit Myanmar again soon, although dates have not yet been settled." Myanmar's National Convention is scheduled to resume July 18 to draw guidelines for a new constitution. The junta says the National Convention is the first of seven steps on a "road map to democracy" that is supposed to culminate in free elections. The junta hand-picked most of the convention's 1,000 delegates and critics say the proceedings have been manipulated and should not be taken seriously because Suu Kyi is under house arrest and cannot attend. Her party has boycotted the convention to protest the detention of Suu Kyi and other members.