Burma junta seeks departure of top UN representative

UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Burma today for his second effort to reconcile the ruling military and its pro-democracy opponents.

But he will also have to deal with the junta’s plan to expel the top UN diplomat in the country.

Gambari was expected to fly directly to the new capital of Naypyidaw to meet senior leaders of the junta, Burma government sources said.

On the eve of his arrival, the junta accused Burma’s UN resident co-ordinator Charles Petrie of going beyond his duties by criticising the regime for its failure to meet the country’s economic and humanitarian needs – and saying that failure sparked September’s mass pro-democracy protests that the government violently suppressed.