Ex-US Diplomat Bill Richardson defends private visit to Myanmar; 'I can make a difference'

Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson acknowledged criticism of his humanitarian visit to Myanmar but stated he believed that the trip was constructive. Bill Richardson, on a humanitarian mission in strife-torn Myanmar, met with the leader of Myanmar's military junta and other top officials, as well as members of the foreign diplomatic corps and representatives of the United Nations and other international organisations, during his visit last week. According to the report, he recommended a number of specific humanitarian measures, primarily to facilitate the delivery of aid to remote areas.

Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico, is the most prominent American to visit the Southeast Asian country since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February. According to his office, he travelled there last week with three colleagues to discuss the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, medical supplies, and other public health needs. The United States, however, along with a number of other Western countries, opposes Myanmar's military-installed government and advocates for a return to democracy.

“I’m deeply invested in this country and they invited me. I have a letter from the foreign minister to talk about vaccines ... that’s what I was invited to do. And I care about the country and I think I can make a difference. It’s a small difference," Richardson said in an online interview with AP on Monday.

According to AP, Richardson claimed, "Well, I knew that the trip would face some criticism." He, however, rejected the notion that he could bestow legitimacy on Myanmar's government. Legitimacy is conferred by the people and by governments, he added.

The Ex-US diplomat has a long history of involvement with Myanmar

Richardson has a long history of involvement with Myanmar, dating back to 1994 when he met Suu Kyi at her residence in Yangon, where she had been under house arrest since 1989 under a previous military regime. He most recently visited Myanmar in 2018 to provide advice on the country's Muslim Rohingya minority. After Myanmar's military launched a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in the western state of Rakhine in 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingyas fled to refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Ever since this year's military takeover, the majority of Myanmar has been engulfed in violence. Security forces brutally suppressed widespread peaceful protests against army rule, and armed resistance has grown to the point where U.N. experts have warned the country risks devolving into civil war. The unrest has also resulted in a humanitarian crisis, with food supplies severely disrupted, as well as a breakdown of an already precarious public health system in one of Asia's poorest countries. When a new wave of the coronavirus hit during the summer, crematoriums in Yangon were overwhelmed.

(With inputs from AP)

Image: AP