Asked of Rohinga & Aung San Suu Kyi, UN Sends Dictum Ban Ki-moon, But to Whom?

By Matthew Russell Lee

 

UNITED NATIONS, September 21 -- After UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met Friday morning with Aung San Suu Kyi, his statement to the press about the meeting did not mention the plight of the Rohingyas in Myanmar, or Burma, as some here call it. Nor was he asked about it, in the two questions selected.

  As noted, Aung San Suu Kyi is in context a rare good news or success story at the UN, where she was once a staffer. But particularly for that reason, questions of the stateless Rohingya who suffer religious prejudice in majority Buddhist Myanmar as Muslim should not be swept under the rug.

  An hour later at the day's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky if the Rohingya had come up. He said yes, but when Inner City Press asked for details, he only said, they discussed it.

  Late Friday afternoon the following arrived:

 

Subject: Your question on Myanmar
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 4:18 PM
To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] innercitypress.com

 

Regarding the question of the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Secretary-General hopes that the recently formed 27-member Commission will carry out an independent, impartial and fair assessment of the situation, and will come up with practical recommendations for the future.

  It is not clear how this dictum, it is said, relates to the question that Inner City Press asked: did Ban Ki-moon raise the plight of the Muslim stateless Rohingya to Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been noticeably silent about them, or she to he? This is a hope stated by Ban Ki-moon: but to whom? Watch this site.