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UN Burma chief to leave country
December 3, 2007 - Charles Petrie, the United Nations in-country coordinator in Burma, will leave the Southeast Asian nation on Tuesday after the ruling junta refused to renew his accreditation last month, a UN official in Rangoon said.
The Burmese military junta, on November 2, summoned Petrie to its new capital, Naypyidaw, and handed him a statement stating their displeasure with the UN coordinator's actions, stating they did not want him to continue serving in Burma.
The Burmese junta particularly protested over Petrie's statement on UN Day in October, a statement that urged the Burmese ruling junta to pay attention to protestors on the street and warned of a deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the country.
"The government of the Union of Myanmar does not want Petrie to continue to serve in Myanmar, especially at this time when cooperation between Myanmar and the United Nations is crucial," the junta said in its statement handed to Petrie.
The UN official, who declined to be named, said "Petrie will leave tomorrow," adding that an acting resident coordinator has been appointed on Petrie's behalf.
While the official declined to give further details, a report by the AFP said Dan Baker has been appointed as the acting resident coordinator of the UN in Burma.
The Burmese government, in early November, said it had reached an agreement with UN Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, to appoint a temporary resident representative in Rangoon.
Gambari, visiting the country to facilitate talks between the ruling generals and opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Ky for the second time since the government's violent crackdown on protestors, reportedly conveyed a message from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to the ruling generals on the expulsion of Petrie.
The Secretary General condemned the move by the Burmese junta and expressed his support for the statement issued by Petrie.
Petrie has led the UN country team in Burma since 2003.
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