Council backs off its threat to Burma

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council late Thursday strongly condemned the use of violence against peaceful protesters in Burma and the deaths of hundreds of civilians, but dropped the threat of possible action against the military after the Feb. 1 coup.

The British-drafted press statement approved by all 15 council members after intense negotiations that began Wednesday expressed “deep concern at the rapidly deteriorating situation” in Burma and reiterated the council’s call on the military “to exercise utmost restraint.”

The original draft was much stronger and would have expressed the Security Council’s “readiness to consider further steps,” which could include sanctions. It would also have “deplored” the use of violence against peaceful protesters and “condemned in the strongest terms the killing of hundreds of civilians by the security forces.”

But at the insistence of China, Burma’s neighbor and friend, the reference to “further steps” was eliminated and the stronger language, including the words “killing” and “deplore,” was softened in the final statement, council diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.

The reference to “further steps” was replaced in the final statement with a sentence saying council members “stressed that they continued to monitor the situation closely and would remain actively seized of the matter.”

The final council statement also called “on all sides to refrain from violence” — which diplomats said Russia demanded — and “reiterated the need to fully respect human rights and to pursue dialogue and reconciliation in accordance with the will and interests of the people of Myanmar.”

Burma is often called Myanmar, a name that ruling military authorities adopted in 1989. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other regime opponents have refused to adopt the name change, as have the U.S. and Britain.

British Ambassador Barbara Woodward said the council’s aim is “to sustain pressure” on the military to reverse the coup and support the people “in their courageous determination to restore peace and democracy.”

She expressed hope the council statement will have that effect alongside the upcoming visit of the U.N.’s special envoy to the region and efforts by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Burma.