Ibrahim Gambari: Unsuccessful UN Envoy To Burma Heads To Sudan

On May 20, 2006, Ibrahim Gambari, the gregarious UN under-secretary general for political affairs, met with leaders of Burma's military junta and their most famous political prisoner, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. It was Gambari's first trip to Burma, and the first time in two years that the country's secretive rulers had granted a UN official such high-level access. Gambari's optimism was palpable: "They want to open up another chapter of relationship with the international community," the seasoned Nigerian diplomat said in a press conference on May 24. But three days later, only a week after meeting with Gambari, the junta extended Suu Kyi's house arrest by a year. Suddenly, Gambari's optimism was his humiliation. "People thought he had fallen for their line," says Mark Farmaner, director of Campaign for Burma UK. "He was completely suckered."

Read more on The New Republic