Former UN Envoy Criticizes US, China On Burma

19 Jan (AP) - A former U.N. envoy Thursday criticized China and the U.S. for not pushing harder for democratic reforms in Burma, saying they should engage the Southeast Asian nation like they do North Korea.

Razali Ismail quit this month as the United Nations' special Myanmar(Burma) envoy, citing frustration with the ruling junta's reluctance to introduce democracy and release political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, has been widely shunned since 1990, when its military leaders refused to hand over power after Suu Kyi's party won promised elections by a landslide.

Razali, a veteran Malaysian diplomat, said it was the responsibility of global powers such as China and the U.S. to take the situation in Myanmar more seriously.

"Countries like China, they should do much more," he said, adding that the U.S. should "look at Myanmar the way they look at North Korea."

Meanwhile, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar also urged China, India and the U.S. to be pro-active with Myanmar.

"I think it will be useful to have China and India and the U.S. ... engage Myanmar. It will contribute to creating a better understanding and dialogue," he said.

He said no dates have been fixed for his once-postponed visit to Myanmar on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to monitor the progress of democracy.

China and the U.S. have been engaged in a protracted effort to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, alternately pressuring Pyongyang and cajoling it during six-party diplomatic talks.

But critics say they haven't dealt with Myanmar effectively.

China, Myanmar's strongest ally, has steered clear of calls for democratization there, and hasn't pressed for Suu Kyi's release. In addition, Myanmar's western neighbor India has spoken in general terms about the virtues of democracy without directly criticizing the junta.

The U.S. has strongly criticized Myanmar's policies, but its reluctance to deal with its leaders has prompted some critics to say it is playing into their hands.

Razali, who assumed the U.N.'s Myanmar mandate in April 2000, mediated a dialogue between Suu Kyi and the junta in October 2000. He also helped secure Suu Kyi's release from house arrest in May 2002.

However, he was kept out of the country for nearly two years and decided not to renew his U.N. contract when it expired earlier this month.

"Possibly I'd become a pain (to the junta), I don't know," he said.