UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari returned to army-ruled Myanmar yesterday as a row over the junta's move to kick out the UN's top resident diplomat overshadowed his mission to coax the generals to reform.
He emphasized immediately UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's backing of country chief Charles Petrie, told by the regime he was no longer welcome after highlighting a deepening economic crisis that fueled mass protests crushed by the army.
"Mr Gambari conveyed the Secretary-General's support for the country team and the resident coordinator and the important work they continue to do to improve the socioeconomic and humanitarian situation," the UN office in Yangon said.
"In this regard, Mr Gambari plans to address, with the Myanmar authorities, a range of issues, including those discussed previously, pertaining to further cooperation and dialogue between the United Nations system and Myanmar."
On the eve of his arrival, the junta accused Petrie of going beyond his duties by criticizing the regime's failure to meet the economic and humanitarian needs of its people, and by saying this was the cause of September's mass pro-democracy protests, which were violently put down by the government.
Eyewitnesses in Yangon said security forces had been reinforced in some parts of the city prior to the visit, while residents said access to the Internet was virtually impossible for the third straight day.
On Friday night, a draft resolution was circulated at the UN strongly condemning the Myanmar government's crackdown on peaceful protesters.
It called on the junta to immediately release those arrested recently, as well as all political prisoners.
If approved by the General Assembly's human rights committee, the new resolution would then need the backing of the 192-nation world body.
General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they do reflect world opinion.
The draft resolution "strongly calls" on the junta to provide Gambari with unrestricted access to all parties -- including ethnic minority representatives, student leaders and dissident monks -- and assist him to achieve "effective progress toward the restoration of democracy and the protection of human rights in Myanmar."
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
COORDINATION, ASSURANCE: Separately, representatives reintroduced a bill that asks the state department to review guidelines on how the US engages with Taiwan US senators on Tuesday introduced the Taiwan travel and tourism coordination act, which they said would bolster bilateral travel and cooperation. The bill, proposed by US senators Marsha Blackburn and Brian Schatz, seeks to establish “robust security screenings for those traveling to the US from Asia, open new markets for American industry, and strengthen the economic partnership between the US and Taiwan,” they said in a statement. “Travel and tourism play a crucial role in a nation’s economic security,” but Taiwan faces “pressure and coercion from the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]” in this sector, the statement said. As Taiwan is a “vital trading
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