Myanmar refuses Ban Ki-moon's request to see political prisoner
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Democracy leader and icon Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar has been jailed for her political activities for 14 of the last 20 years, reported the Los Angeles Times. The country is currently under the control of Than Shwe, a man the Times of India calls a “military ruler,” and Suu Kyi isn’t the only political prisoner being held in the country, even as allegedly democratic elections
loom in the coming year for Myanmar (also known as Burma), reported the Los Angeles Times.
Win Tin, a former political prisoner and member of Suu Kyi National League for Democracy, escaped the jails, though it is possible he will return to prison, and leaked reports of torture and other human rights abuses to the United Nations—reports that have drawn international attention, and urged the recent visit of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Shwe complied with many of Ban’s requests, but denied him the opportunity to visit with Suu Kyi, which many say made the trip a complete failure, reported the Times of India. A Human Rights Watch member told the Times of India, "[Ban] didn't even get one of the empty gestures the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council, the name for the ruling junta) probably should have given him so he could cast it as a minor victory." Ban responded to the criticism citing the other requests Shwe had granted during the trip.
However, one historian believes that Ban does not deserve the blame for the supposed failure, telling the Los Angeles Times, "Many governments were pushing him to go, the same governments that can't agree among themselves on what to do about Burma," he said. "As long as the big powers are deadlocked, it's easy to push the U.N. secretary-general into the limelight, and then blame him for not producing results."
Tin believes that more needs to be done to deal with the corruption in Myanmar, saying, "If there is no real political progress, we will see Burma under a military dictatorship for many years," reported the Los Angeles Times.
