By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS
The Irrawaddy News
The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed US President George W Bush on Friday on the latest developments in Burma following the military government’s announcement of a constitutional referendum and general elections in the country.
February 16, 2008 - UN diplomatic sources told The Irrawaddy that Burma was one of the topics discussed on Friday during the meeting of the two leaders at the White House in Washington.
“On Myanmar [Burma], the secretary-general briefed President Bush on the work of his special adviser, Ibrahim Gambari,” said Marie Okabe, a spokesperson for the secretary-general.
In brief remarks to reporters after the meeting, Bush said: “I appreciate your [Ban’s] tireless work to help solve some of the real humanitarian crises that we face, such as the crisis in Sudan, [and] the issues in Burma.”
In an October statement, the UN Security Council urged the military junta to release all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, start a dialogue with pro-democracy groups and include opposition groups in the constitution drafting process. None of the criteria has been met by the military junta so far.
This was the first discussion between the two leaders since Burma announced last week its decision to hold a referendum in May and multi-party general elections in 2010.
Last week, the Bush Administration imposed additional sanctions on supporters of the military government in Burma.
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