UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Tokyo  30 June 2009: unofficial transcript of remarks on Myanmar at a joint press conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone

I am going to discuss with the Foreign Minister over dinner many other important issues concerning my visit to Myanmar and the situation in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and climate change, most importantly.

As you know by this time already, I am planning to visit Myanmar from July 3-4. I look forward to returning to Myanmar to address directly with the senior leadership of Myanmar the serious and longstanding issues of concern to the United Nations and the international community as a whole. In particular, I consider that three of the most important issues for the future of Myanmar cannot be left unaddressed at this juncture of the country’s political process: first, the release of all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi; the resumption of dialogue between the Government and Opposition as a necessary part of any national reconciliation process; and third, the need to create conditions conducive to credible elections next year. In addition, I consider that every opportunity should be used to consolidate and build on the joint humanitarian efforts following Cyclone Nargis last year.

Question: I would like to ask about Myanmar since the Secretary General is about to visit there. Secretary-General, are you concerned that the timing of your visit could send a wrong message, since it coincides with the resumption of the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi?

Secretary-General: I have been trying to find out the most appropriate timing. I have been trying to visit Myanmar since a long time, but I realized that there are concerns about the timing of my visit at this time because a trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is still pending. It may be the case that the trial may happen during my visit in Myanmar. I am very much conscious of that. At the same time, to find the most appropriate timing has been a challenge for me, too. I have been negotiating with the Myanmar authorities about my own visit. While being conscious of this concern of the international community, I will try to use this visit as an opportunity to raise in the strongest possible terms and convey the concerns of international community of the United Nations to the highest authorities of the Myanmar Government. As I said, three of most important benchmarks would be: first of all, they should release all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi;  [second] they should immediately resume the dialogue between the Government and opposition leaders; and [third] they should also create an atmosphere, political as well as a legal framework conducive to the credible election which needs to be taken next year in a most objective, transparent and democratic manner. This is the commitment and concerns and aspiration of the international community. I am going to convey this strongly to Senior General Than Shwe and other leaders. I am going to also have an opportunity of having a public speech inviting all civil leaders, NGOs and political leaders, and also I may have an opportunity of meeting all the other different political leaders/representatives. This would provide with me a very good occasion to engage in, first of all, dialogue with people of the grassroots as well as the highest leaders. Thank you very much.

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The Buddha, the Bazaar and the Burmese Road to Democracy - Dr Xiaolin Guo     

This report by Dr Xiaolin Guo, an anthropologist with extensive fieldwork experience in Yunnan Province in China, reflects on some current issues following her trip to Myanmar in the spring of 2009. The purpose of her visit was to see beyond the international headlines for a change. Her route through the country extended from the original landing port to inland historical sites and beyond what is historically known as Burma proper. She was interested in how ordinary people live and what their general concerns are. For the people of Myanmar, as for people elsewhere in the world, there is after all more to life than just political ideals. A general indifference toward national politics stands in contrast to a strong desire for economic development, and she was struck by the gap between what matters most to people inside the country and what many on the outside like to see. Her report thus deals with, in order of their importance, key aspects of native experience in Myanmar.

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