U.N. to commemorate former Secretary General U Thant -MIZZIMA

http://www.mizzima.com/news/world/1444-un-to-commemorate-former-secretary-general-u-thant.html

by Salai Pi Pi
Monday, 15 December 2008 20:46

New Delhi (Mizzima) - The United Nation's Postal Administration (UNPA) will early next year release three postal stamps in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of former U.N. Secretary General, and Burmese national, U Thant.

In February, 2009, the UNPA will issue three commemorative postal stamps in denominations of US$ 0.94, CHF 1.30 and EUR 1.15 in conjunction with the theme, "100th anniversary U Thant".

Burma's U Thant, who was unanimously appointed to the position by the General Assembly, served as the third Secretary General of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971.



U Thant was the first Asian to hold the post in the world body, followed only by current Secretary Genearl Ban Ki-moon of South Korea.

U Thant was born at Pantanaw of the Irrawaddy Division in Burma, on January 22nd, 1909, and passed away on November 25th, 1974, with lung cancer.

During his tenure as the Secretary General, U Thant had done many successful mediation efforts in preventing the possibly war in Yemen in 1962 and Bahrain in 1968 that could have provoked a wider regional conflict.

Despite of his popularity, Burma's military dictator General Newin, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1962, refused to honor him with a state funeral, after his body was flown in from New York.

Newin's act immediately provoked the Rangoon university students, who then took the body of U Thant to the university campus in order to organize a grand funeral. But Newin sent troops to the campus and begun opening fire on students.

The event, which started off as a demand to hold a state funeral for U Thant, was later known as the "U Thant uprising' in modern Burma's history, as students and civilians following the bloody crackdown marched the streets of Rangoon in protest against Newin and his Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP).

The United Nations is the only organization in the world which is neither a country nor a territory that is permitted to issue postage stamps, according to the UNPA.

The UNPA is also the only postal authority to issue stamps in three different currencies, namely U.S. dollars, Swiss francs and the Euro.