Annan urges authorities in Myanmar to take steps towards democracy

The absence of an all-inclusive process of democratization and national reconciliation in Myanmar is exacerbating the suffering of the country’s people, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report which calls on the authorities to take steps to rectify the situation.

Political contacts between the United Nations and Yangon have been significantly reduced since former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was ousted late last year, according to the report on the situation of human rights in the country.

At the same time, UN relief organizations face a slew of problems, “with authorities imposing onerous fees, bureaucratic hurdles, and extensive restrictions on both travel to projects sites and the import of supplies and equipment,” according to the report.

The Secretary-General warns of a “significant risk” that other aid groups will follow the example of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which recently withdrew $98 million in funding pledges from Myanmar because its work was being hampered. If relief organizations were to leave, this would result in “worsening the plight of millions of people in Myanmar,” he says.

While there had been signs of progress in 2003 when the Myanmar authorities announced their seven-point road map towards democracy, since then even basic requirements have not been met, according to the report. The National Convention charged with drawing up principles for a new constitution continues to exclude representatives of many political parties, including the National League for Democracy headed by Aung San Suu Kyi.

With the Convention set to reconvene before the end of this year, the Secretary-General urges the Myanmar authorities to make the road map process more inclusive and credible. Toward that end, he calls on them to resume dialogue with representatives of all ethnic nationality groups and political leaders, release political prisoners, lift constraints on political leaders, re-open the offices of the National League for Democracy, and include all concerned parties in the road map process.