U.S. seeks Security Council debate on Myanmar

U.S. seeks Security Council debate on Myanmar
Tue 29 Nov 2005 6:20 PM ET
By Irwin Arieff

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Washington pressed the U.N. Security
Council on Tuesday to discuss "the deteriorating situation" in Myanmar
after its military rulers extended the house arrest of opposition
leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi by another year.

A new effort to put the reclusive Southeast Asian nation on the council
agenda could trigger a procedural battle when the United States raises
it on Wednesday, council members said.

An informal bid to raise an issue in the council requires the consent
of all 15 members. A country can also demand a vote, requiring the
support of nine members to win.

"It would be uncommon for a country to push for a discussion on an
issue unless they already had nine votes," said Jeremy Woodrum of the
Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma.

The United States has imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Myanmar,
including a ban on most imports, and has criticised Asia-Pacific
nations for not speaking out against its human rights record.

An earlier U.S. attempt to raise the issue of political repression in
Myanmar was rebuffed in June when Russia, backed by China and Algeria,
argued the issue was outside the council's mandate of ensuring
international peace and security.

In the latest U.S. bid, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton requested a council
briefing on the situation in Myanmar in a Tuesday letter to Russian
Ambassador Andrei Denisov, the council president for November.

"The United States and other members of the Security Council are
concerned about the deteriorating situation in Burma," Bolton wrote.
U.S. officials routinely refer to Myanmar as Burma, the country's name
before it changed it in 1990.

Among the reasons for a briefing to be scheduled were the illegal drug
trade, the spread of AIDS, a stalled transition to democracy and human
rights abuses including the detention of political prisoners, Bolton
said.

He also cited media reports that the authorities were "seeking nuclear
power capabilities, diverting scarce resources better used to address
the needs of the Burmese people."

Government officials visited Suu Kyi over the weekend to read her a
statement outlining the decision to extend her detention by another 12
months. Her National League for Democracy party won a landslide
election victory in 1990 but Myanmar's military leaders refused to hand
over power.



© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

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