By RIA Novosti
United Nations : The military government and the pro-democracy opposition in Myanmar are ready for UN-mediated talks on national reconciliation, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday.
The UN chief encouraged the Myanmar government and all relevant parties “to redouble their efforts towards achieving national reconciliation, democracy and full respect for human rights,” UN associate spokeswoman Marie Okabe quoted him as saying.
The statement came following UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari’s six-day mission to Myanmar, during which he attempted to promote talks between the ruling junta and pro-democracy leaders led by detained Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. It was his second visit since the military crackdown on anti-junta protestors in September.
Okabe said: “As a result of Gambari’s visit, a process has been launched that will hopefully lead to a meaningful and substantive dialogue with concrete results within an agreed timeframe.”
Recent protests in Myanmar, the largest in more than two decades, began Aug 19 when the junta drastically raised the price of fuel, leaving many people unable to afford even a journey to work. Demonstrations rapidly took on a more general anti-junta nature.
The demonstrations that followed, including a 100,000-strong protest march in Myanmar’s capital Yangon, were headed and organised by the country’s monks. Protests eventually died down after soldiers raided monasteries throughout the country, beating and imprisoning large numbers of the Buddhist holy men.
The ruling junta seized power in 1988, and although a general election was subsequently held in 1990, the military authorities refused to honour the results when the National League for Democracy Party won. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for a total of 12 years since 1989.
Prior to this year’s protests, the last anti-junta demonstrations in Myanmar were led by students in 1988. Security forces opened fire on crowds, and around 3,000 people were killed.