Top UN Official in Burma Ordered Out

Myanmar’s government on Friday ordered the expulsion of the United Nations’ top diplomat in the country after his office issued a critical statement urging the ruling generals to heed the voices of protesters.

It concluded with a reference to the mass protests that were brutally suppressed. “The concerns of the people have been clearly expressed through the recent peaceful demonstrations, and it is beholden on all to listen,” the statement said.

The junta ruling Myanmar has ordered the expulsion of Charles Petrie, the top United Nations diplomat stationed in the country, United Nations officials said today.

The move comes on the eve of a visit by the United Nations special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, whose six-day trip is intended to support reconciliation between the junta and its opponents. Aye Win, the United Nations spokesman in Myanmar, said Mr. Gambari’s visit would proceed as scheduled.

Mr. Petrie, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, was told to leave the country because of a critical statement issued recently by his office, said Hak-Fan Lau, a United Nations spokesman in Bangkok.

Posted by Dilated_Rebel
Born and raised very humbly in a “small town” in southern California, I was a product of different worlds. Literally, part of my family descends from Mexico the rest from Portugal and Uruguay. This mixture had kept me from supporting any racist psyche found...