UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council called for a dialogue between the Myanmar government and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to hasten reconciliation.
The council called on authorities and other parties to “work together towards a de-escalation of the situation and a peaceful solution,” in a statement read by Ambassador Leslie K. Christian of Ghana, who holds the rotating panel presidency in October.
The government of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, must take steps for a “genuine dialogue” with Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate under house arrest for four years who has spent 11 of the past 17 years in detention, a U.N. news release said. The council said discussions must include "all concerned parties and ethnic groups in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of the United Nations."
The Security Council was briefed last week by Ibrahim Gambari, the secretary-general’s special adviser, after returning from Myanmar. Gambari has been invited back to Myanmar and the body voiced its support for Gambari's return to the country as quickly as possible to “facilitate concrete actions and tangible results," the U.N. release said.