United Nations (UN) special envoy Ibrahim Gambari will not
influence the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member
countries on how to tackle the Myanmar issue.
"It is not normal for a (UN) secretariat member to give orders
to the member states," he said in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday when
commenting on the ASEAN action concerning the issue.
All the discussions could take place at the East Asian Summit
2007 scheduled on November 21 in Singapore, he said.
"A sustained engagement along the lines that we have been saying
would be very welcome. What form this would take, we have to leave
it to ASEAN," Malaysian national news agency Bernama quoted Gambari
as saying.
The former Nigerian Foreign Minister is in Kuala Lumpur on an
Asian tour to seek coordination towards a solution to the Myanmar
issue.
Gambari also met Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawion Wednesday morning in Putrajaya, the administrative center
of Malaysia.
Malaysia is the envoy's second stop in his 6-nation Asian tour
after Thailand. He will continue meeting leaders from Indonesia,
India, China and Japan on the peace mission to exchange views on
the current situation in Myanmar.
Gambari visited Myanmar in late September and earlier October
amid widespread mass demonstrations by Buddhist monks and people in
several parts of the country. He arrived in Yangon to look into the
situation of the country and play the UN's part in seeking for
Myanmar's national reconciliation.
(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2007)
