- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Myanmar junta and opposition ready for UN-brokered dialogue

Subscribe
Myanmar's military government and opposition are ready for UN-mediated talks on national reconciliation, the UN secretary general said on Tuesday.
UN, November 13 (RIA Novosti) - Myanmar's military government and opposition are ready for UN-mediated talks on national reconciliation, the UN secretary general said on Tuesday.

Ban Ki-moon encouraged the Myanmar government and all relevant parties "to redouble their efforts towards achieving national reconciliation, democracy and full respect for human rights," U.N. associate spokeswoman Marie Okabe quoted him as saying.

Ban's special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, completed a six-day mission to Myanmar last week during which he attempted to promote talks between the ruling junta and pro-democracy leaders led by detained Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. It was his second visit since the military crackdown on anti-junta protestors in September.

Okabe said that, "As a result of this visit, a process has been launched that will hopefully lead to a meaningful and substantive dialogue with concrete results within an agreed timeframe."

Russia had previously said it expected contacts between the opposition and the ruling junta to become a significant factor in the achievement of national reconciliation and the advancement of democracy in the country, the ministry added.

Recent protests in Myanmar, which were the largest in more than two decades, began on August 19 when the junta drastically raised the price of fuel, leaving many people unable to afford even a journey to work. Demonstrations rapidly took on a more general anti-junta nature however.

The vast majority of demonstrations that followed, including a 100,000-strong protest march in the capital, Yangon, were headed and organized by the country's monks. Protests eventually died down after soldiers raided monasteries throughout the country, beating and imprisoning large numbers of the Buddhist holy men.

The ruling-junta seized power in 1988, and although a general election was subsequently held in 1990, the military authorities refused to honor the results when the National League for Democracy Party won. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for a total of 12 years since 1989.

Prior to this year's protests, the last anti-junta demonstrations in Myanmar were led by students in 1988. Security forces opened fire on crowds, and around 3,000 people were killed.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала