Un envoy meets with Aung San suu Kyi and Military janta

UN official Ibrahim Gambari poses for a photo with detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during discussions in Rangoon, 11 November 2006

UN Envoy Meets With Aung San Suu Kyi and Military Junta

By Nancy-Amelia Collins Jakarta30 September 2007

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UN official Ibrahim Gambari poses for a photo with detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during discussions in Rangoon, 11 November 2006

The United Nation's special envoy to Burma has met with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and with members of Burma's ruling military junta to try to stop the its violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. VOA's Nancy-Amelia Collins in Jakarta has more.

Diplomats say the U.N. special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, met with opposition leader and Noble Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi Sunday for about 90 minutes.

Aung San Suu Kyi was taken from her home to meet Gambari at the government guesthouse on the same street where she lives in Rangoon.

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 11 of the past 18 years under house arrest.
Details of the meeting are not immediately known nor are those of Gambari's meeting Saturday with government officials in the new capital, Naypyitaw, about 380-kilometers north of Rangoon.
Japan's Deputy Foreign Minister, Mitoji Yabunaka, is also visiting Burma to push for a full investigation into Wednesday's death of Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai. Video of the incident appears to show a soldier shooting him at close range.

"Firstly, I am going to Rangoon to investigate the truth behind the painful incident of a Japanese national who was killed, and to ensure the safety of Japanese residents in Myanmar," Yabunaka said. "Secondly, and this is the wish of the whole international community, to urge the rulers not to use force and to exercise restraint, negotiate seriously with the democratic movements of the country and start building a road towards democracy."

Demonstrations began August 19th to protest a steep increase in fuel prices, but later turned into mass anti-government marches led by legions of Buddhist monks.

The military junta began breaking up the protests with deadly force last Wednesday, arresting hundreds of monks and civilians. Burma's government says 10 people have been killed, but witnesses say many more have died.

Foreign journalists are being prevented from entering the country, so most information is coming from Burmese citizens who are posting news, photos, and videos on the Internet.

Governments and people around the world are expressing outrage over the use of violence in stopping the protests. Rallies in support of the pro-democracy protesters have been held in cities around the world.

Burma's neighboring nations in Southeast Asia are among those speaking out. Marty Natalegawa, Indonesia's United Nations ambassador, says Indonesia is deeply disturbed by the violence.

"Obviously the evolving situation in Burma has become a source of great concern for us which we are following very closely," Natalegawa said. "We have stated on record our sense of dismay and how disturbed we are by the unfolding developments, the use of force by the Burmese authorities."
The impoverished nation of Burma has been ruled by the military for the past 45 years and has one of the worst human rights records in the world.

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Aung Suu San Kyi a été pris de sa maison pour rencontrer Gambari à la pension gouvernementale dans la même rue où elle vit à Rangoon.

Le ministre des Affaires Etrangères Adjoint du Japon, Mitoji Yabunaka, visite aussi la Birmanie pour insister sur une enquête pleine(complète) dans la mort de mercredi de journaliste vidéo japonais Kenji Nagai. La Vidéo de l'incident semble montrer un soldat le tuant tout près.

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Les démonstrations(manifestations) ont commencé le 19 août à protester d'une augmentation raide de prix de carburant, mais se sont métamorphosées plus tard en marches anti-gouvernmentales massives menées par les légions de moines de Bouddhiste

Les gouvernements et le peuple(les gens) expriment dans le monde entier l'atrocité sur l'utilisation de violence dans l'arrêt des protestations. Les rassemblements(reprises) dans l'appui des protestataires de pro-démocratie ont été tenus dans des villes dans le monde entier.

La nation appauvrie de Birmanie a été gouvernée(décidée) par l'armée(les militaires) pendant les 45 ans passés et a un des plus mauvais rapports(records) de droits de l'homme dans le monde.

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guesthouse (n) =maison des hôtes

steep (adj) = fort

Image from a video released by the Democratic Voice of Burma shows Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai after being shot in Rangoon. He later died

Fukuda Takes Office in Tokyo, and First Issue Is the Crisis in Burma
Yasuo Fukuda, a moderate, will try to rebuild support for Japan's weakened ruling party. He faces a fight with the opposition over his wish to continue assistance for U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. Transcript of radio broadcast: 28 September 2007
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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
Image from a video released by the Democratic Voice of Burma shows Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai after being shot in Rangoon. He later died.Japan's new prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda, took office this week -- and quickly faced a crisis. The unrest in Burma claimed the life of a Japanese cameraman. Kenji Nagai was shot Thursday as security forces moved to crush anti-government demonstrations.
Mister Fukuda rejected the idea of immediate economic sanctions. He directed a Foreign Ministry official to go and push the government for a full explanation.
Japan provides aid but not as much since the military in Burma violently suppressed protests for democracy in nineteen eighty-eight. The next year, the generals ruling Burma changed its name to Myanmar, a name the United States and Britain do not recognize.
Mister Fukuda spoke Friday by phone with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao about the situation in China's neighbor. He said he asked that China, given its close ties, exercise its influence and that "Premier Wen said he will make such efforts."

Mister Fukuda of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party easily won election Tuesday in the lower house of parliament. The upper house rejected him. Opposition parties won control of the upper house in July. But the L.D.P. still controls the lower house. And the vote of the lower house decides the winner in such a split.
This was the first split vote of this kind since nineteen ninety-eight. Mister Fukuda's closest competitor was main opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa.
The new prime minister is seen as politically moderate. He says one of his goals will be to repair public trust in the ruling party. The L.D.P. has recently faced a series of investigations of financial wrongdoing involving cabinet members.
Mister Fukuda has kept much of Shinzo Abe's cabinet. Nobutaka Machimura, the foreign minister under Mister Abe, will serve as chief cabinet secretary. Former defense minister Masahiko Komura will serve as foreign minister.
Mister Abe resigned on September twelfth after only one year as prime minister. He has apologized for resigning suddenly. He said he did so only because of health reasons.
Mister Fukuda is seventy-one years old. He is the eldest son of former prime minister Takeo Fukuda. And he served as chief cabinet secretary under Junichiro Koizumi.
His success could depend on his ability to find a way to work with the opposition. An early test will involve Japan's naval refueling operations in support of American-led forces in Afghanistan.
The mission began in two thousand one. Legislation supporting it will end on November first unless Japan extends it. Mister Fukuda supports the idea. But opposition parties are expected to resist an extension.
He also faces a high government debt and a longtime budget deficit. Japan has the world's second largest economy after the United States.
Japanese newspapers found that more than half the public supported the new prime minister and his cabinet. He gives a policy speech next week.
And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

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Le Japon fournit l'aide, mais non tant depuis l'armée(les militaires) en Birmanie des protestations violemment supprimées pour la démocratie dans dix-neuf quatre-vingt-huit. L'année suivante, les généraux gouvernant(décidant) la Birmanie ont changé son nom à Myanmar, un nom les Etats-Unis et la Grande-Bretagne ne reconnaissent pas.

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FukudaMister Fukuda du parti Démocrate Libéral dirigeant a facilement gagné l'élection mardi dans la Chambre basse du Parlement. La Chambre haute l'a rejeté. Les partis(fêtes) d'opposition ont gagné le contrôle de la Chambre haute en juillet. Mais le L.D.P. contrôle toujours la Chambre basse. Et le vote de la Chambre basse décide le gagnant dans une telle fente.

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Son succès pourrait dépendre de sa capacité de trouver une façon de travailler(marcher) avec l'opposition. Un premier essai impliquera les opérations de ravitaillement en combustible navales du Japon dans l'appui de forces Dirigées par les Américains en Afghanistan

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Il fait aussi face à une haute dette gouvernementale et un déficit budgétaire de longue date. Le Japon a la deuxième plus grande économie du monde après les Etats-Unis.