Myanmar; wat kunnen we doen? Wat gebeurt er eigenlijk?

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Op zaterdag 29 september 2007 04:22 schreef sigme het volgende:
Birma verdient een beter topic.

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Myanmar is een land in Azië dat gedeeltelijk op het Indische subcontinent ligt. Het land heet officieel Unie van Myanmar en heette vroeger Birma of Burma. Myanmar grenst aan Bangladesh, China, India, Laos en Thailand.

De hoofdstad is sinds 7 november 2005 officieel het centraal gelegen Naypyidaw (bij Pyinmana), zij het dat de verhuizing op die datum pas begon. De voormalige hoofdstad is Rangoon (Yangon), de grootste stad van het land.

Basisgegevens
Officiële landstaal: Birmaans
Hoofdstad: Naypyidaw
Regeringsvorm: Republiek (Junta)
Religie: Boeddhisme 89%, Christendom (4%), Islam (4%) [1]
Oppervlakte: 676.578 km² (3.0%% water) (Ruim 16x Nederland)
Inwoners: 35.307.913 (1983), 47.373.958 (2007) (70 / km² (2007))


Bron; Wikipedia

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Myanmar: A job for the Security Council

By Jared GenserPublished: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2005

WASHINGTON: Since 1990, the military junta that runs Myanmar has refused to honor the results of the elections it organized in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) won more than 80 percent of the seats in Parliament. For the last 15 years, the generals in charge have systematically oppressed their own people and committed countless atrocities to maintain their grip on power.

The time has come for the United Nations Security Council to take action in Myanmar.

Since 2003, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been under her third round of house arrest. All attempts by the international community through the UN secretary general's special envoy, the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights to encourage the generals to pursue national reconciliation have been flatly rejected. And most recently, frustrated over the lack of progress, fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations like Indonesia, Malaysia the Phillipines and Singapore succeeded in publicly and privately pressuring the government of Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, to relinquish its scheduled 2006 Asean chairmanship.

The international community has never been more unified on Myanmar. And yet, up to this point, the United Nations' efforts have failed. This statement is not designed to place blame on any individual or international organization. Indeed, the blame for a lack of progress lies solely with the generals in Rangoon. Nevertheless, whether the UN can find a way to deal with the situation is in many respects not only a question for Myanmar, but a challenge to the United Nations' ability to carry out its own charter...

Bron; International Herald Tribune

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12 January 2007
Security Council

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Security Council

5619th Meeting (PM)


SECURITY COUNCIL FAILS TO ADOPT DRAFT RESOLUTION ON MYANMAR,


OWING TO NEGATIVE VOTES BY CHINA, RUSSIAN FEDERATION


Vote is 9 in Favour to 3 Against, with 3 Abstentions

Bron; U.N.

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19 September: Update Report on Myanmar: The Council will be briefed tomorrow, 20 September 2007, by the Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, on his recent activities under the Secretary-General's Good Offices role and the latest developments in Myanmar. This will be the first time Myanmar will be discussed by the Council since a draft resolution was vetoed in January 2007. Council members are not expected to take any immediate action but if the deteriorating situation comes to be seen as a threat to international peace and security, action may be considered.
Bron; U.N.

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Expected Council Action
The Council will receive a briefing on 20 September from the Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, covering the Secretary-General's Good Offices efforts in relation to Myanmar.

This will be the first time that Myanmar has come up in the Council since a US inspired draft resolution was vetoed on 12 January 2007. The Council is not expected to take any action at this stage, unless the deteriorating situation clearly becomes a threat to international peace and security.
bron; U.N.

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UN Human Rights Council to hold special session on Myanmar next week


28 September 2007 – The United Nations Human Rights Council has announced it will hold a special meeting on 2 October to discuss the situation in Myanmar, amid growing calls for authorities in the Southeast Asian nation to exercise restraint in dealing with ongoing protests.

Myanmar has recently witnessed a wave of peaceful demonstrations, which began last month in protest against a surge in fuel prices and more recently have included many of the country’s monks.

The 47-member Council, which today suspended its sixth session until 10 December, decided to hold the emergency meeting following a request by a number of countries.

This will be the fifth special session convened by the Geneva-based Council since it was set up in June 2006 to replace the former Commission on Human Rights.

The deteriorating situation in the country prompted Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to dispatch his Special Envoy to the region earlier this week. Ibrahim Gambari held meetings at Singapore’s Foreign Ministry today and is expected to arrive in Myanmar tomorrow.

Mr. Ban’s call for restraint by Myanmar authorities in responding to the demonstrations has been echoed by a number of the world body’s officials.

Today the head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) condemned the killing of Japanese photojournalist Kenji Nagai, who was shot dead on 27 September while covering a demonstration in Rangoon.

Decrying the use of violence against journalists and protesters in Myanmar, Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura called on the authorities to respect the professional work of reporters regardless of their country of origin.

“Freedom of expression and press freedom are basic human rights and allowing the media to express different views can only help achieve the national reconciliation we all wish for Myanmar,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today it was deeply concerned about the situation in the country, especially the effects of the violence on women and children.

UNICEF’s Veronique Taveau told reporters in Geneva today that with much of the Myanmar’s population already struggling to survive – with a significant number of children malnourished – the current violence could only lead to a further deterioration and restrictions on UNICEF’s ability to reach the most vulnerable.

Bron; United Nations