United Nations Sending Special Envoy to Myanmar Region
In his statement, the Secretary-General called "again on authorities to exercise utmost restraint towards the peaceful demonstrations taking place."
The U.N. also issued a press release on Wednesday describing the attempts of the Secretary-General, his Envoy, and the Security Council to urge the Myanmar government to exercise restraint and to cooperate with the U.N.
As of the publication of the press release, the Myanmar government appeared not to be cooperating. They had not accepted the Special Envoy's mission, which apparently is necessary for him to enter the country. The U.N. said that the Envoy will "stay in the region, and as soon as he gets the green light he will proceed."
On Wednesday afternoon, the Secretary-General met with Myanmar's foreign minister; the Special Envoy briefed the Security Council; and the Ambassador of France, the current Security Council president, issued a statement expressing the Council's strong support of the Envoy's mission.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, also urged the Myanmar government to allow peaceful demonstrations, and she said that using excessive force and arbitrarily detaining peaceful demonstrators was "strictly prohibited" under international law.
She also expressed concern for the well-being of Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her non-violent struggles against Myanmar's military dictatorship.
According to the Associated Press, on Wednesday Myanmar government security forces fired at demonstrators, including the Buddhist monks who have been such a prominent part of the protests, killing at least one person and wounding others. It's not clear exactly when on Wednesday this happened, but I think it may have been after the Union Nations statement and press release were issued, because those mention beatings, but not shootings and not fatalities. So the situation has apparently become even worse since the time of the Secretary-General's statement.
Sources:
Secretary-General Dispatches Special Envoy as Myanmar Situation Deteriorates, United Nations Department of Public Information, September 26, 2007
Ban Ki-moon dispatches Myanmar envoy to region as situation worsens, United Nations News Centre, September 26, 2007
Myanmar Forces Open Fire on Protestors, Associated Press, September 26, 2007
Aung San Suu Kyi, Wikipedia
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