Time for Myanmar regime to release political prisoners: UN envoy

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari said here Thursday that it was time for Myanmar's military regime to release political prisoners and resume dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Speaking to reporters after briefing the UN Security Council on his last visit to the southeast Asian country in August, Gambari said: "the tangible results of my last visit fell below expectations."

He added that it was imperative for "the government of Myanmar at this point to deliver substantive results" regarding "the release of political prisoners and the resumption of dialogue between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi."


His view was echoed by US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad, who noted: "The United States and several others (in the 15-member council) are of the view that there hasn't been any concrete progress with regard to ... time-bound political negotiations leading to democratization and the release of political prisoners."

"The time has come to review what needs to be done to be more effective in bringing about progress with regard to those two objectives," he added. "Our judgment is that more pressure needs to be applied on the regime."

Khalilzad's British counterpart John Sawers also voiced disappointment at the way the Myanmar regime handled Gambari's August visit.

"We have not seen substantive progress on the central goal of achieving national reconciliation," he noted.

And commenting on Aun San Suu Kyi's refusal to see Gambari on his latest visit, Sawers noted: "We should take this as a message."

"We need to understand the frustration that she, and her supporters, her party and indeed the people of Burma (Myanmar) are feeling at the lack of progress."

Gambari visited Myanmar August 18-23, in a bid to restart dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling military regime. He was also unable to meet with senior figures in the regime but held talks with the prime minister.

A UN spokeswoman said at the time that Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, was unable to meet Gambari as scheduled but that the UN envoy met members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the opposition party she leads.