Global Policy Forum

By Warren Hoge and Seth Mydans

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday that the use of force to put down peaceful protests in Myanmar was ''abhorrent and unacceptable,'' and that the country's government must release those it had arrested and start a dialogue with political opponents. Mr. Ban made his remarks to the Security Council before his special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, reported on his four-day emergency trip to Myanmar. Mr. Gambari was dispatched after the junta ruling the country began a brutal crackdown last week on Buddhist monks and those who joined them in protests against the government.

The junta said that hundreds of monks had been detained and that it was hunting for four whom it described as ringleaders. It claimed only 109 monks remained in custody, but diplomats and other analysts have been skeptical of government reports. The main city of Yangon appeared normal in daytime, but was a place of terror at night as people were dragged from their homes in a wave of arrests, according to foreign aid workers reached by telephone.

At the United Nations, where 12 Buddhist monks from Myanmar watched from the gallery, Mr. Ban said: ''While I am relieved to hear of reports that some military forces have been withdrawn and that some restrictions have been eased, the overall situation still remains of serious concern, especially with regard to the unknown predicament of the large number of individuals who were arrested without due process.'' He called for their release ''without further delay.'' Mr. Ban added, ''Now more than ever before, the government of Myanmar should take bold actions toward democratization and respect for human rights.'' The secretary general also said that a ''united Security Council could play an important supporting role in the ongoing efforts of the United Nations.''

While the Council has been united in its support of Mr. Gambari's mission, China, which borders Myanmar and is one of its few allies and trading partners, has argued that the crisis does not constitute the kind of threat to international peace and security that calls for the involvement of the Council. After Mr. Gambari spoke, Wang Guangya, China's ambassador, said: ''It is quite understandable for the outside world to express concern and expectation regarding the situation on the ground. However, pressure would not serve any purpose or would lead to confrontation or even the loss of dialogue and cooperation between Myanmar and the international community, including the United Nations.'' ''If the situation in Myanmar takes a worse turn because of external intervention,'' he warned, ''it would be the people of Myanmar who will bear the brunt.''

Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador, said at the Council session that the crisis in Myanmar, formerly Burma, was clearly having effects beyond its borders because it was ''closely tied'' to the flight of refugees, the growth in the trafficking of drugs and people and the spread of infectious diseases. Countering China's claim that pressure could undermine cooperation, he said: ''For engagement to be productive, pressure has to be applied, to incentivize the regime to cooperate. The two are complementary rather than the view expressed that they are in conflict or contention.'' He said that if the government did not take constructive action ''in a timely manner,'' the United States would introduce a resolution in the Security Council imposing sanctions on the country. ''It is time for the Council to do more than simply listen to a briefing,'' he said.

He said the offer by the leader of Myanmar's junta, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning opposition leader under house arrest, had come with ''unrealistic conditions.'' According to state television, the general had told Mr. Gambari that he would see Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi only if she gave up promoting activities that it identified as ''confrontation, utter devastation, economic sanctions'' against Myanmar and other sanctions. In his report to the Council, Mr. Gambari appeared to take issue with the argument, put forward by China, that the repression of antigovernment protests was a ''basically internal'' matter. ''What happens inside Myanmar can have serious international repercussions,'' Mr. Gambari said. He added, ''No country can afford to act in isolation from the standards by which all members of the international community are held.''

Mr. Gambari said he had been able to ''deliver clear and strong messages'' at the highest levels of the Myanmar government that it must cease night raids and arrests, lift curfews, release all people detained during the protests, withdraw the military from the streets and ''put an immediate end to raids on monasteries.'' He said it ''remains unclear how responsive the authorities will be to these messages.''