New York: Former United Nations (UN) chief Ban Ki-moon has arrived in Myanmar, state media reported, as the bloody conflict engulfing the Southeast country spirals.
Diplomatic efforts to end the crisis erupted by the military’s 2021 coup have stalled. The military government ignored international criticism of its brutal and violent crackdown on dissent and refused to talk with the opposition.
Myanmar media reported no details of Ban’s visit, but he is a member of “The Elders” group of international leaders founded by Nelson Mandela, which works to promote peace and resolve conflicts worldwide. Ban and his team arrived in Naypyidaw by air on Sunday evening. The deputy ministers for foreign affairs and defense received him.
Ban, who also served as foreign minister of South Korea, visited Myanmar several times during his time as UN secretary general, with varying degrees of success talking with the military generals.
Former UN Chief’s 2009 visit
In 2009 he visited to press the then-military leader Than Shwe to release Aung San Suu Kyi, but the junta head brazenly snubbed his attempts to meet with the pro-democracy figurehead. In 2016, with Aung San Suu Kyi out of jail and serving as the country’s de facto civilian leader, he returned to enhance international support for her push to sign peace deals with ethnic rebel groups.
Suu Kyi was arrested again at the start of the 2021 coup, which plunged Myanmar into tumult. The UN special ambassador for Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer requested a meeting with Suu Kyi in 2022. The military refused the request, and Heyzer later promised she would not visit Myanmar again unless allowed to meet with the Nobel laureate.
The junta ended a series of closed-court trials of the civilian leader in December, imprisoning her for 33 years in a process rights activists and groups have condemned as a sham.
