Gambari & India

Gambari says India's stand clear on Myanmar
18 Jan 2008, 1336 hrs IST,PTI

WASHINGTON: Seeking "concrete action" from nations perceived close to Myanmar, a top UN envoy has pointed out that India had "clearly" said that it wanted the military-ruled country to cooperate with the world body and initiate a more inclusive process of national reconciliation.

Secretary General's Special Advisor on Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari maintained that all the countries he had approached had supported the role of the office of Secretary General on the issue.

"But I am not satisfied with that. I want that general verbal expression of support to be translated into concrete action in support. In what ways - First get the right messages to the authorities in Myanmar to address the concerns of the international community to listen to their own people," Gambari told reporters.

"Having said that, I must say that India recently it is on record following the visit of the foreign minister of Myanmar said that they would want a more inclusive national reconciliation process and further cooperation with the Good Offices of the Secretary General's role. This is something which they have said clearly," he added.

His comments came as the 15-member UN Security Council issued a statement regretting "the slow rate of progress so far toward" meeting objectives they set out last October, a month after Myanmar's military junta crushed pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks. Gambari has visited Myanmar twice since the bloody military crackdown.

Stressing the importance of "further progress" toward the goal of reconciliation between the military regime and the opposition, the statement noted that an early visit by Gambari could help facilitate this.