Burmese president Thein Sein has told the BBC’s Hardtalk programme that he would accept Aung San Suu Kyi as president if she was elected by the people. "Whether she will become a leader of the nation depends on the will of the people. If the people accept her, then I will have to accept her," he said. "There isn't any problem between me and Aung San Suu Kyi. We are working together." He also reaffirmed his government’s commitment to continuing democratic reforms and urged for remaining sanctions to be lifted. Thein Sein spoke at the UN General Assembly a few days ago, praising Suu Kyi and...
An Iranian diplomat was mobbed by protesters in New York, shortly after the President Ahmadinejad addressed the UN General Assembly. The Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ramin Mehmanparast, was walking outside the UN building, when he was spotted by the anti-Ahmadinejad protesters who surrounded him, shouting "Get lost and go back into your hotel... What are you doing in New York, you sick criminal?” and "Yeah, you scared sh*t, run away and go stand next to the police.” Police officers intervened and shepherded him away from the protesters.
Suspected war criminals have been arrested in Kosovo on Thursday, after a joint operation by the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo and Kosovo Police. The two suspects were held for alleged war crime rapes committed in 1999, marking the latest in a long series of arrests of suspected war criminals from the Kosovo War. However, the arrests were slammed by the Vučitrn enclave Mayor Zoran Rakić, who stated , they were "a continuation of the Kosovo (Albanian) government's attempts to obstruct the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština".
The Friends of Syria, consisting of several countries, including the US, the EU and the Arab League urged the Syrian opposition to unite in their fight against Assad. At a meeting in New York, the Syrian opposition has been promised $45 million in non-lethal aid by the US, of which $30 million will be humanitarian aid. “We are working to help them strengthen their networks, avoid regime persecution and document human rights abuses,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters. “It is encouraging to see some progress toward greater opposition unity, but we all know there is more work to...
Three Commonwealth Nobel Peace prizewinners - the Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace laureate Nadine Gordimer, and Nobel literature winner Wole Soyinka, have slammed the newly proposed Commonwealth charter as "repetitive rhetoric", and called on the UK and other countries not to sign it. In an open letter, the trio asserted that the charter fails to detail the consequences of member states violating such core principles, and said, “We ask those responsible not to sign any charter which fails to include a credible, authoritative and specific mechanism to verify serious breaches of these...
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the US will allow imports of Burmese goods. The ban on the imports was one of the key sanctions that are still remaining against the Burmese government. The latest move is a continuation of the normalisation of relations between the US and Burma. Speaking to the Burmese president during talks at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Clinton said: "In recognition of the continued progress toward reform and in response to requests from both the government and the opposition, the United States is taking the next step in...
Addressing the UN general Assembly in New York, Burma’s president, Thein Sein, paid tribute to opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Referring, for the first time, to Aung San Suu Kyi as a Nobel laureate, Thein Sein congratulated her on the honours she recently received in the US. “As a Mayanmar citizen, I would like to congratulate her for the honours she has received in this country in recognition of her efforts for democracy,” he said. Suu Kyi was under house arrest for 15 years under the previous military government in which President Aung San Suu Kyi also served. Burma’s new civilian-led...
Both Sudan and South Sudan have signed deals on trade, security and oil in a move that has been lauded as easing escalating tensions between the two nations. The deals, penned at African Union brokered talks, were hailed by AU mediator Thabo Mbeki as significant, saying, "We are convinced that what has happened, which culminated in signing of the agreements, constitutes a giant step forward for both countries." ICC wanted-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir stated it was a "historic moment for building peace" commenting, "We will continue talking with the same spirit to solve the other problems...
The former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, has been subjected to a travel ban, preventing him from leaving the capital Male. A court ruled that Nasheed needs to seek the court’s permission if he wants to leave the capital, a move which, according to the court, is standard procedure ahead of the several court cases he is facing. Supporters of Nasheed have criticised the travel ban and accused the government of restricting the former president’s ability to campaign for elections next year. "The regime fears Nasheed will win an election. So they plan to convict him of something so...
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office expressed 'regret' at the recent elections that took place in Belarus on 23rd September. In a statement, the FCO spokesperson, felt that the Belarus elections were "neither free nor fair". The spokesperson said , “We note the OSCE assessment that the elections were neither free nor fair. This is clearly disappointing. Whilst we welcome the improvements to the electoral law made in advance of these elections, they did not go far enough. We call on the government of Belarus to work constructively with the OSCE on further reforms.