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发帖数: 27535 | 1 BEIJING (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked China to play a
greater role in solving African crises during a meeting Monday with the
president, but did not discuss the country's human rights record or the
imprisonment of Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo.
Ban met with President Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of the People in the
heart of Beijing, one day after attending a summit in Shanghai with Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao and other leaders.
"Since taking office, you have done a great deal of effective work to
promote the work of the United Nations, improve the U.N.'s work, improve
international cooperation, promote world peace and stability," Hu told Ban.
Rights advocates have urged Ban to join other world leaders in publicly
expressing concern over Liu's imprisonment, as well as the treatment of his
wife, Liu Xia, who has been under house arrest since the award was announced
last month.
Liu Xiaobo, a 54-year-old literary critic, is serving an 11-year sentence
for subversion imposed in December after he co-authored a bold appeal known
as Charter 08 calling for reforms to the country's single-party communist
political system.
At U.N. headquarters in New York, spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters
that human rights did not come up in Ban's meeting with Hu because there
were many other issues to discuss. Nesirky added that the world body's
previous statement on Liu — which did not call for his release but said Ban
has long advocated for improvement on human rights — still stands.
Philippe Bolopion, U.N. advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, accused
Ban of failing "in one of his most basic duties, which is to be a clear
voice on human rights."
The secretary-general's repeated refusal to call for Liu's release is "
inconsistent" with his frequent calls for the release of Myanmar's detained
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, another Nobel Peace Prize winner, he
said.
"This looks like a misguided attempt to secure Chinese support for his re-
election and overlooks the fact that the world needs a courageous and
outspoken secretary-general," Bolopion told AP in New York. "The fact that
his office doesn't even claim that human rights issues were raised in
private is particularly shocking, especially coming from a secretary-general
who often defends his timid public statements by tough talk behind the
scenes."
Ban's five-year term ends on Dec. 31, 2011 and there is widespread
speculation that he will seek a second term.
According to the U.N., Ban and Hu "discussed a wide range of issues,
including climate change, the Millennium Development Goals, the Korean
Peninsula and Africa." Nesirky said Ban specifically mentioned that China
could play a greater role in the conflicts in Somalia and Sudan.
China has built strong economic ties in Africa in recent years, though many
have criticized its role on the continent, suggesting Beijing is too eager
to ignore abuses committed by the regimes it does business with.
No news conference is planned during Ban's visit and he appears unlikely to
raise Liu's case in keeping with his low-key style and China's immense
influence in the U.N. as one of five veto-wielding permanent members of the
Security Council.
Ban's public comments in China have been limited thus far to praise for the
country's staging of the just-concluded World Expo and calls for more
sustainable development.
(This version CORRECTS Updates to add comment from Human Rights Watch.
Corrects UN spokesman's name to Nesirky in 11th graf.) |
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