UN Security Council issues first statement in Burma crisis

In its first-ever statement on Burma, the UN Security Council said it "strongly deplores" the government's violent crackdown on protesters.

It also calls for a "genuine dialogue" between the country's military rulers and the pro-democracy opposition.

The compromise statement approved by all 15 council members - including close Burma ally China - emphasised "the importance of the early release of all political prisoners and remaining detainees".

The council statement was read yesterday at a formal meeting shortly after the United Nations announced that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is sending the UN envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, back to the region next week for consultations with key governments.

Ban sent Gambari to Burma after troops quashed protests initially led by students and then by Buddhist monks in late September.

The United States, Britain and France proposed a stronger text that would have condemned the violence and called for the immediate release of the political prisoners and detainees, singling out pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years.

But it was watered down to get approval from China, which had proposed a much weaker text.