US, Britain and France Seek UN Statement on Burma

By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS / NEW YORK
The Irrawaddy

Undeterred by a veto threat from Russia, three permanent members of the UN Security Council-the US, Britain and France-will seek a UN Security Council presidential statement on Burma.

The three countries will draft a presidential statement on Burma, which the Deputy Permanent Representative of the US Mission to the UN, Ambassador Alejandro D Wolff, told reporters Wednesday would be circulated among the 15 members of the Security Council.

The draft, a copy of which was obtained by The Irrawaddy, calls on the Burmese military junta to allow full political participation of all factions, including the detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The proposal will spark intense debate between the two dominant groups inside the Security Council. While the pro-democracy group is led by the US, Britain and France, two permanent members, Russia and China, have resisted all moves to take stronger action against Burma's military government.

The draft statement reiterated the importance of the "early release" of all political prisoners and detainees.

"The Security Council again stresses the need for the Government of Burma to take, in a timely manner, concrete, meaningful steps that result in genuine dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of the United Nations," said the draft statement.

Referring to the junta's announcement of a referendum on the draft constitution in May followed by multi-party elections in 2010, the draft said: "In order for this process to be inclusive and credible, it calls on the Government of Burma to allow full participation of all political actors, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."

The draft stresses that the importance of the guarantee of freedom of expression, association and assembly in the political process leading up to the referendum, as well as independent poll observers.

"A presidential statement is very important. Burma is going to be listed (on the Security Council program for the month of April) because we are obviously following the situation there very closely. We expect there to be a presidential statement," Wolff said, when he was asked about Russian opposition to such a statement. It was during the Security Council discussion on Burma last month that the US Ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, said the US would seek a presidential statement.

"The situation in Burma is something that this Council and certainly the US and other members are very concerned about and merits close scrutiny, including on the referendum on this constitution," Wolff said. "This is all part of a process that we believe should be to open up the society to give people a voice and allow a democratic process that's serious, and real, and transparent to enfold," he said.

The Security Council president for the month of April, Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of South African expressed doubt about the need for a presidential statement on Burma's referendum. However, he confirmed that Burma would be on the council's agenda in April.

"No draft presidential statement has been circulated yet. But the United States delegation is putting together elements for a text, though it was not certain that it would focus on the elections there or if there would be a Council mandate for monitoring those elections," he said.