By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 28
-- There were
two narratives
as well as two
names, Myanmar
and Burma, at
work at the UN
this week. The
Organization
of Islamic
Cooperation
held a special
meeting about
the
abuse of the
Muslim
Rohingya;
Iraq's vice
president
called it
"genocide."
Meanwhile
when
UN envoy Vijay
Nambiar
emerged from
the Friends on
Myanmar
meeting past 6
pm on Friday,
he described
an upbeat
meeting, and
even
mused that
either Myanmar
should be
invited into
the group or
the
group be
disbanded if
the UN's Third
Committee does
not again pass
a
resolution
this year.
Inner
City Press
asked Nambiar
about the
Rohingya, and
whether Ban
and he
thought
Myanmar should
stop denying
them
citizenship
and leaving
them
stateless.
Nambiar gave a
detailed
answer, that
the issue had
been
raised inside
the meeting --
he pointed out
that at least
one member
said that the
government is
not behind the
attacks.
Even as
Nambiar
answered on
Rohingya, in
the General
Assembly the
foreign
minister of
the UAE made
calls on the
government of
Myanmar on the
topic. This
minister met
with Ban
Ki-moon last
Friday - was
the Rohingya
issue raised?
Of
the Kachin,
when Inner
City Press
asked Nambiar
of the open
letter to
Ban from the
Kachin
National
Organization,
he
acknowledged
it and
said Ban's
opening
statement had
noted that the
talks in
Kachin have
stalled. He
talked about
cease fires
and military
pullbacks --
concepts also
deployed, but
differently,
in Syria.
One
wonders, if
the Third
Committee does
not pass a
resolution, if
this
UN "Good
Offices" on
Myanmar office
will continue.
At the
Indian Mission
to the UN this
week, there
were
photographs of
that
country's
Ambassadors,
and UN
officials.
Nambiar is the
senior Indian
official in
the UN system.
If the mandate
ends, what
next? Watch
this
site.
