UNITED NATIONS—The U.N. Security Council deplored on Thursday Burma's (officially known as Myanmar) crushing of pro-democracy protests and urged political dialogue, in a statement uniting Western powers and China for the first time.
The statement said "all political prisoners and remaining detainees" should be released soon and called on the junta that has ruled Burma for four decades to prepare for a "genuine dialogue" with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The official policy statement is not legally binding but because—unlike a resolution—it required the consent of all 15 council members it left the Burma government isolated, Western diplomats said.
It was the first time the council had taken official action on Burma and marked a shift of position by China, a neighbor and key trading partner of Burma that had previously used its veto to prevent criticism of the country's authorities.
The United Nations said special envoy Ibrahim Gambari would leave over the weekend for an Asian tour expected to culminate in his second visit to Burma since the junta cracked down on the demonstrations led by Buddhist monks last month.
Burma authorities admits 10 people were killed, but Western governments says the toll is likely to be much higher.
"The Security Council strongly deplores the use of violence against peaceful demonstrations in Myanmar," said the statement read by council president Leslie Kojo Christian of Ghana after the West and China had haggled for six days over the text.
The council "emphasizes the importance of the early release of all political prisoners and remaining detainees," it added.
"The Security Council stresses the need for the government of Myanmar to create the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups, in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation."
Limited Time
"I think it is significant ... because it makes absolutely clear that the government of Burma is isolated from all world opinion in its actions of recent weeks," said Britain's U.N. Ambassador John Sawers, using Myanmar's former name.
The three original sponsors of the statement—France, the United States and Britain—said the junta should take action soon or they would pressure council members to return to the issue.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said if nothing happened, "we will be back" in the council, possibly in two weeks. "We will not relent. We will persist," Khalilzad told journalists.
France's deputy U.N. ambassador, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said all restrictions imposed on Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, had to be lifted. "What is important is that the government of Myanmar delivers," he said.
China's deputy U.N. ambassador, Liu Zhenmin, limited his comments to hoping the statement would help Gambari's visit and did not respond to questions on further council action.
He said it was up to Burma's government and people "to resolve this issue."
Gambari will hold talks in Thailand on Monday, and also visit Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China and Japan "with a view to returning to Myanmar shortly thereafter," a U.N. statement said.
Gambari, who returned from a four-day visit to Burma last week, had originally planned a second trip in mid-November. Western diplomats said they hoped he would be in Burma before the end of October to push for implementation of the statement's demands.
The statement was substantially rewritten several times and its final version dropped original demands for a full accounting of what had happened to the demonstrators as well as direct calls for a transition to democracy in Burma.
Khalilzad said if he had had his way the statement would have been stronger, "but you have to bring 15 countries together with different views and different interests."
Rights groups gave it a cautious welcome. "This is a first step when what Burma needs is a concrete measure," said Aung Din, director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma.
"We hope the council follows this move by implementing an arms embargo."
Feeds