On September 1st, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations wrote a letter to Greek Ambassador and current President of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Adamantios Vassilakis requesting that Myanmar be formally added to the agenda of the UNSC.
In the letter, the US Ambassador John Bolton declared that the deteriorating situation in Myanmar is “likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security.”
The US appeal included references to briefings from UN Under Secretary Ibrahim Gambari in December 2005 and June 2005 that described the grave human rights situation within the country and the threat to neighboring countries posed by the military government’s rule.
In a press conference, Bolton expressed confidence in getting the necessary 9 out of 15 Security Council member votes to put Myanmar on the agenda.
Reports from the UN this week revealed that Gambari may be traveling to Burma again to inform another briefing. During his last trip t Myanmar, Gambari was granted rare access to democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The meeting was a minor breakthrough that was soon overshadowed by the junta’s renewal of Suu Kyi’s house arrest shortly after the UN diplomat’s departure from Myanmar.
The Washington Post: U.S. makes a push for U.N. action on Burma – 5 Sept
