AP Interview: UN Myanmar envoy frustrated at slow progress in reforms

The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA (AP): A U.N. envoy said Friday he is frustrated with Myanmar's slow progress toward democracy, but is hopeful that Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi will be allowed to take part in planned elections.

Ibrahim Gambari is on a tour of Asia aimed at encouraging regional leaders to do more to press for change in Myanmar. He made the remarks after meeting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono shakes hands with UN envoy to Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari at the presidential office in Jakarta (2/22).(FOTO ANTARA/Rumgapres/Haryanto)

"Sometimes, I myself am frustrated that the tangible results are not faster or we have not achieved more, but we have to build on what we have and continue to press for more results," Gambari said in an interview.

He said he expected to visit Myanmar in the first week of March to resume talks with the country's military rulers, but complained of the restrictions the junta placed on him when he was there on previous trips.

"I'm asking to be allowed to see more people, with more freedom and to stay longer, that's my wish," he said.

In a surprise announcement earlier this month, Myanmar said it will hold a May referendum on a new constitution written under military guidance, and will hold elections in 2010 - the first specific dates for steps in an earlier-announced "roadmap to democracy."

Under the new constitution, Suu Kyi would not be allowed to run in the election because she was once married to a foreign citizen - her late husband was British - and enjoyed the privileges of a foreign national.

The plans have been widely criticized for failing to include any input from Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, which complained Monday that the junta's recent moves toward reform were not enough.

Gambari said he "hoped" that Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, would be allowed to take part in the polls. He said Thursday he would raise the issue with the junta during his upcoming visit.

Suu Kyi's party won general elections in 1990 but was not allowed by the military to take power. She has been under house arrest or in prison for more than 12 of the past 18 years.

Myanmar sparked global outrage in September when the junta crushed protests led by Buddhist monks. The U.N. estimates at least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained in the crackdown.