Tripartite talks still unreachable

Tripartite talks still unreachable, says UN expert

National Reconciliation

Burma is still far away from the long-awaited Tripartite Dialogue, according to Sergio Paulo Pinheiro, who just completed his 12-day fact finding trip to Burma on Monday, 28 October. 

"I don't mean to discourage (the people of Burma)", said the grizzled Brazilian yesterday after his arrival in Thailand. "But that's the way it is" 

He added that Razali Ismail, UN-Special envoy, whom he had met in Malaysia on his way to Rangoon, "has tried much to put the ethnic parties on board, but has been unsuccessful so far. It is not easy to convince the generals that it is in their interests to do so." 

But the first thing, he maintained, was "to break the deadlock." 

Nearly 6 months after the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from custody, an event hailed by the military rulers as "a new page", substantive talks have yet to kick off, prompting Alternative Asean, a Bangkok-based NGO, to dub the situation as "New page, Old story." 

On License to Rape, a report published by Shan women-in-exile that charges Rangoon of using sexual violation as a tool of war against non-Burman states, his press-communique states the reason for his refusal to visit the Shan State: a short visit would be inappropriate to conduct a comprehensive assessment. Rather he proposed to the SPDC to explore several options for credible investigation of these allegations." 

The statement also says he had urged Rangoon to allow "an adequate presence" of the Red Cross in all conflict areas of the country. 

Pinheiro will be submitting his interim report and present his observations from this mission to the UN General Assembly on 6 November.