Ex-UN chief Ban Ki-moon calls for end to violence in Myanmar following visit

By Admin 25 Apr 2023

DMG Newsroom
25 April 2023, Sittwe

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar during a recent meeting with military leaders of the conflict-torn Southeast Asian nation.

Ban visited Naypyidaw from April 23-24 at the invitation of the regime and met with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and former President U Thein Sein.

“I came to Myanmar to urge the military to adopt an immediate cessation of violence, and start constructive dialogue among all parties concerned,” Ban said in a statement released by The Elders, an international nongovernmental organisation of global public figures including senior statesmen, peace activists and human rights advocates.

Ban stressed the urgency of making progress on implementation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Five-Point Consensus and urged the junta leaders to find a path to an end to violence and establish a peaceful, democratic, inclusive and legitimate government, The Elders said in the statement.

Ban is deputy chair of The Elders, a group founded in 2007 by former South African President Nelson Mandela.

“Both sides had a positive exchange and discussion regarding the current situation in Myanmar,” regime spokesman Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun told media afterward.

Ban did not have the opportunity to meet former State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison, during the visit.

The chairman of the Arakan National Party (ANP), U Tha Tun Hla, said he believes that Ban’s visit to Myanmar will not have a major impact on the military, political, conflict and human rights crises brought about by the February 2021 military coup.

“He went back yesterday. I think that Ban Ki-moon has not achieved a level where, just overnight, a consensus can be reached to find a big solution to the complicated problem of Myanmar,” he added.

Myanmar political analyst U Ye Tun (Hsipaw) said: “What I think is that if ex-UN chief Ban Ki-moon was invited to Myanmar to help solve Myanmar’s political problems, if he would intervene and help to meet and discuss with all stakeholders, he would definitely have to ask to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Now, Ban Ki-moon did not have the opportunity to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, so I think that his visit will not have a significant impact on the Myanmar conflict.”

The National Unity Government (NUG) questioned the wisdom of the high-profile visit. 

“Visiting the junta at a time when it has been committing serious violent crimes is, in a way, recognising its legitimacy,” the NUG deputy foreign minister, U Moe Zaw Oo, was quoted by RFA as saying. “He should not visit without knowing for sure whether his trip will benefit the people.”