EU's Myanmar envoy to launch whirlwind diplomatic tour

Monsters & Critics
January 18, 2008

Brussels - The European Union's special envoy for Myanmar, Piero Fassino, said Friday he is to launch a whirlwind diplomatic tour of Asia in a bid to accelerate the process of reconciliation in the troubled state.

The visits to India, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Russia are intended to move the political process in Myanmar into a 'more substantial phase,' Fassino told journalists in Brussels.

'The countries of Asia can play a very great role in the process... In October and November, India and China played a positive role, (and) I think that at this moment, their governments can realize a very strong influence,' he said.

'We want to keep the question of Myanmar as one of the priorities on the international agenda,' he said.

Fassino's jet-propelled diplomacy is set to focus on building international support for a renewed visit by the UN's special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, to the Asian state, four months after mass protests against Myanmar's military regime were put down by the authorities.

'We have to concentrate all our efforts for Mr Gambari to go there as fast as possible, and to achieve some substantial steps,' Fassino said.

Such steps should help create 'a real dialogue between all actors in Myanmar in an atmosphere of mutual trust,' he said.

They could include the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political figures and the creation of a structured dialogue with a timetable for talks, Fassino said.

And the Myanmar authorities should involve opposition figures in the creation of a new constitution - a process currently in the sole hands of government allies, he said.

While Fassino said that targeted sanctions - imposed by the EU and US, but rejected by Asian states - had an important part to play in the diplomatic process, he stressed that the current round of visits would focus on other issues.

'If you have a strategy A and start talking about a strategy B, then strategy A is gone. The core of our strategy is to make sure that a dialogue is opened in Myanmar,' he said.

'If Mr Gambari goes to Myanmar, it's a good step. After that, we'll discuss it with the EU and with Mr Gambari,' he said.

Fassino is set to visit Thailand and Indonesia next week, India and Russia in February, Vietnam and Cambodia in early March and Japan later in the spring, he said.