Ironies and oddities

The decision by Burma’s military ruler to meet imprisoned democratically-elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi is so riddled with conditions that it makes me wonder if they really want to make that happen.

It also seems slightly incongruous that the leaders would agree to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi while they still have thousands of monks and people held in secret detention.

International attention cannot afford to waver on this just because people are no longer on the streets. Pressure has to remain to bring about effective change for the people facing repression in Burma. One way you can do this is to get involved in tomorrow’s Global Day of Action to support the Burmese people.

Thousands of people are going to be taking part, and Amnesty’s Secretary General Irene Khan will be one of the leaders in tomorrow’s march in London who will have a chance to raise this with PM Gordon Brown.

Moving on. So Bill Clinton said on the Today programme at 8.10 that he wants to be part of his wife’s administration should she be successful in becoming next US PM. The ex-president believes he can be help ‘restore America’s standing in the world’.

Admittedly he is a respected global statesman who, as well as successfully wooing the media, he has established some promising initiatives to tackle HIV/AIDS and climate change. But facts are facts, and let’s not forget that it was President Clinton who introduced the process of rendition to the US Government. Sorry Bill, there are some things that your media charm cannot excuse.