Written by U Ne Oo on 1998-02-16
Dr U Ne Oo
18 Shannon Place
Adelaide SA 5000
Australia
February 16, 1998.
Mr Kofi Annan
Secretary-General
U.N. Secretariat
United Nations New York N.Y. 10017
United States of America
Dear Secretary-General:
re: THE LACK OF PROGRESS TOWARDS
RECONCILIATION AND DIALOGUES IN BURMA
I firstly thank U.N. Secretary-General for your efforts in regards to Burma at the informal ASEAN meeting at Kuala Lumpur last December and also for sending the Assistant Secretary Mr de Soto to Rangoon late last month. In spite of these best efforts by the United Nations and international community, the Burmese military authorities show no signs of moving towards reconciliation and dialogue. I therefore urge the United Nations and international community to step up pressures on the military government of Burma.
I should particularly like to draw the Secretary-General's attention to some aspect relating with the U.N. Officials' visits to Burma, such as the one made by Assistant Secretary-General Alvaro de Soto to Rangoon recently. I believe that many of these U.N. Officials' visits are being used by military junta as a machenism se U.N. Officials' visits are being used by military junta as a machenism to mitigate international community's serious concerns about situation in Burma, which is to delay the possible effective actions on Burma. The international community must not, therefore, consider the SPDC/SLORC receiving visit by various U.N. Officials -- including Human Rights Special Rapporteur -- as a sign of Burmese military junta making progress in co-operating with the United Nations. Only when the SPDC/SLORC make substantial concessions with regards to humanitarian problems and political dialogue with th dialogue with the opposition, must we consider that as making a genuine progress.
I therefore urge U.N. Secretary-General and international community to make following measures as a response to the lack of progress on the situation of human rights in Burma:
1. expell the U.N. representative of SPDC/SLORC from the United Nations;
2. send the Human Rights Special Rapporteur to Burma to investigate the human rights abuses documented in his report A/52/484;
3. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to make furner for Refugees to make further representations concerning with situation of refugees and displaced people from Burma.
I am also concerned about the possibility of transferring a large amount of revenue from oil companies to military government from Burma-Thailand natural gas project. A delay of 8 to 12 months to this gas pipeline project is desirable. I therefore appeal those in business community as well as international political circle to co-operate regarding with this matter.
In closing, I thank the Secretary-General forhe Secretary-General for your kind attention to these matters. Your continuing efforts on the situation of Burma are greatly appreciated by the people of Burma.
Yours respectfully and sincerely,
Sd. U Ne Oo.
copy to:
1. Hon. Madeleine K Albright, Secretary of State, U.S.Department
of State, Washington D.C.20520, U.S.A.
2. Ms Sadako Ogata, U.N.High Commissioner for Refugees, Palias des Nations, Case Postale 2500, CH-1211 Geneva 2 Depot, Switzerland.
3. H.E. Bill Richardson, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, 799 United Nations Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017, U.S.A.
4. Hon. Alexander Downer, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600, Australia.
