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First Lady Prods UN Head on Burma Policy

Laura Bush urges tougher stance on crackdown on protests

By Zach Samalin,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 6, 2007 7:35 PM CDT
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(Newser) – As part of her ongoing campaign to raise awareness about strife in military-led Burma, Laura Bush called on the UN to condemn recent arrests of political dissidents. The first lady made her passion clear with a phone call to Secretary General Ban Ki Moon last week, in which she called the junta's arrests a "brutal crackdown," the Washington Post reports.

Bush pointed to China and especially Russia as potential problems on the road to a tougher UN resolution. "I don't know about Russia," she told reporters yesterday. "You know, they seem that whatever we're for, they're against." Usually more politically mild-mannered, her remarks were interpreted as a criticism by the UN envoy on Burma, who said, "the tone was surprising."

First lady Laura Bush, center, accompanied by Senate Women's Caucus on Burma members Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., left, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, right, takes part in a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 23, 2007. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
First lady Laura Bush, center, accompanied by Senate Women's Caucus on Burma members Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., left, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, right, takes part in a meeting on Capitol...   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by the United States Campaign for Burma, Star Trek's Walter Koenig, left, who played Pavel Chekov in the popular TV series from the 1960s and movies the past 28 years, talks with a Karen woman refugee as he visits a refugees camp Saturday, July. 21, 2007,...
In this photo released by the United States Campaign for Burma, Star Trek's Walter Koenig, left, who played Pavel Chekov in the popular TV series from the 1960s and movies the past 28 years, talks with...   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by Democratic Voice of Burma, a Myanmar man is carried on to a waiting truck after being arrested by plain cloths police officers during a protest in Yangon, Myanmar Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007. Pro-government militia members on trucks staked out key streets in Yangon Wednesday as...
In this photo released by Democratic Voice of Burma, a Myanmar man is carried on to a waiting truck after being arrested by plain cloths police officers during a protest in Yangon, Myanmar Tuesday, Aug....   (Associated Press)
First lady Laura Bush speaks at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007. Mrs. Bush held a roundtable with reporters to discuss the situation in Burma. The Bush administration and lawmakers from both parties have asked the U.N. Security Council to condemn Myanmar's recent crackdown on activists....
First lady Laura Bush speaks at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007. Mrs. Bush held a roundtable with reporters to discuss the situation in Burma. The Bush administration and lawmakers...   (Associated Press)
First lady Laura Bush speaks at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007. Mrs. Bush held a roundtable with reporters to discuss the situation in Burma. The Bush administration and lawmakers from both parties have asked the U.N. Security Council to condemn Myanmar's recent crackdown on activists....
First lady Laura Bush speaks at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007. Mrs. Bush held a roundtable with reporters to discuss the situation in Burma. The Bush administration and lawmakers...   (Associated Press)
First lady Laura Bush speaks at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007. Mrs. Bush held a roundtable with reporters to discuss the situation in Burma. The Bush administration and lawmakers from both parties have asked the U.N. Security Council to condemn Myanmar's recent crackdown on activists....
First lady Laura Bush speaks at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007. Mrs. Bush held a roundtable with reporters to discuss the situation in Burma. The Bush administration and lawmakers...   (Associated Press)
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Burmese junta cracks down on protesters
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World • Politics • US

 
United Nations • Laura Bush • international relations • Burma • Ban Ki-moon

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