UNITED NATIONS, August 3 -- Facing questions of what the UN has accomplished on Myanmar through its “Good Offices” mandate, since Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar has filled the post, the Good Offices are being offered to a variety of Japanese officials, sources tell Inner City Press.
When Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu left, he was reportedly offered the Myanmar “Good Offices” post.” Takasu turned it down; Japanese mission sources, while fully believing that Takusa would be offered a senior UN post, say that he is going to retire.
Others say that the UN Myanmar post, which Ibrahim Gambari vacated when he went to UNAMID in Darfur, is now being offered to two other Japanese diplomats, including the highest placed one in the UN system. With Ban Ki-moon in Japan this week, watch this site.
This comes as questions have built up, without being answered, about the UN's “Good Offices” on Myanmar mandate, particularly since Nambiar took over from Ibrahim Gambari. Inner City Press has repeated asked for information about the work and accomplishments in any. On June 22, Inner City Press asked:
Inner City Press: on Myanmar, there’s a lot to be said, but there’s a recent report, Bloomberg and Jane’s Intelligence Review, which is respected in the field, giving more credence to Myanmar developing nuclear weapons. A whistleblower, to coin the phrase, has left the country and has produced photographs of a facility near the new capital. Does the UN have any, either the good offices role? What is the UN’s knowledge of that, given that the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] is unable to inspect? And two, what really has been accomplished through this good offices role in the past six months? We have heard very little, and that may be part of Ms. Ahlenius’ critique.
UN's Ban, Gambari and Nambiar: Japanese official or Mr. Choi not shown
Spokesperson Martin Nesirky: First, the Secretary-General has been outspoken about what is going on in Myanmar, first on the elections, the need for the elections to be transparent and inclusive, and for all the political actors to be able to take part if they so wish. He’s also been very outspoken on the need for the release from house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Also, on the first part of your question, this is something, whether allowed into the country to inspect or not, the International Atomic Energy Agency would be keeping an eye on, and let’s see what the agency has to say about that. [He later added that the IAEA had said: “The IAEA has seen the media reports and continues its analysis of information on Myanmar, as it does with information on other countries.”]
The next day, July 23, Inner City Press followed up, as "one reporter" --
Inner City Press: Yesterday, during the response by Ms. [Angela] Kane and [Catherine] Pollard, they declined to say, to respond to this part of the [Inga-Britt] Ahlenius memo that said — it is only one country among many but it was the first one listed, Myanmar — and the senior UN official who spoke later, for some reason, declined also to discuss it. I guess I want to ask you, what have been the accomplishments of the good offices mandate since Mr. [Ibrahim] Gambari let it go, and another official took it over. What has been done? There has been an ASEAN [Association of South-East Asian Nations] meeting, various countries have spoken about the election. Has the UN made any comment? What’s the UN doing on Myanmar?
Spokesperson Nesirky: We’ve made comments in answer to you and to others, and I said just to you the other day that there are important elements here; the need for transparent and inclusive elections, that’s absolutely critical. There is also the need for political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, to be released unconditionally and quickly. And we continue to work, as I also said to you before; the good offices [team] is not one individual, if you like, it’s people working behind the scenes. Not everything that happens is in the public eye.
Well, that is true. At the same time that Takasu left, Japan's representative on the UN's Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions Misako Kaji also left, despite her term running through December 2010. While Japan quickly nominated Akira Sugiyama to replace her, this “clean sweep” of Japanese at the UN has caught the eye of some. Watch this site.
Footnotes: An earlier good one about the Good Offices has Cote d'Ivoire SRSG Choi returning to New York to take on the part time Myanmar good offices role, and to manage Ban's campaign for a second term. But Choi has said he'll remain in Cote d'Ivoire until there is an election....
On August 2, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky who is in charge of the UN, with Mr. Ban traveling in Japan and DSG Asha Rose Migiro on annual leave. While Nesirky insisted that Mr. Ban is always in charge, Inner City Press asked if anyone had formally be made officer in charge. Even the following day on August 3, no answer was given. Watch this site.
