The [him] moderator thinks that both Than Shwe’s wife and Laura Bush should leave politics to the professionals. Amateur meddling usually does more harm than good. Is this the best the US can do at the roundtable? Rice would be nice.

21 September - Reuters reported only six people showed up and the Washington Post reported eight. What a waste.

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Laura Bush to put pressure on Myanmar at UN
Thu Sep 14, 2006 5:45 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - First lady Laura Bush will have her own agenda when she and President George W. Bush leave on Monday for the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York.

While her husband is in meetings with the leaders of Malaysia, El Salvador, Honduras, Tanzania, France and Iraq, Laura Bush will host a round-table discussion on Myanmar, formerly Burma, and a global literacy conference, the first lady's office said.

The United States wants the U.N. Security Council to deal with Myanmar, whose junta government has jailed opponents, persecuted minorities and sent refugees fleeing into neighboring states.

Laura Bush on Tuesday will host the discussion to try to gain support for a proposed U.S.-sponsored Security Council resolution to pressure Myanmar to have an "all-inclusive political process" and release detained Nobel Peace Prize-winning opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

She will also call on the Myanmar government to ensure access and security for humanitarian workers, take steps to end ethnic violence and address HIV/AIDS and drugs and human trafficking.

U.N. and U.S. officials plus representatives from nongovernmental organizations that work on the Thai-Burmese border were expected to be included.

On Monday, Laura Bush will push global literacy at a conference at the New York Public Library. Later she will join women entrepreneurs to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

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Laura Bush to fight for Burma, Suu Kyi

US First Lady Laura Bush, hoping to prod the United Nations into action on Burma, will host talks on the "humanitarian crisis" there during next week's UN general assembly, her office said.

The United States has been seeking UN Security Council steps against that country's military junta, but is "not sure that's going to be successful," Bush's chief of staff, Anita McBride, told reporters.

"We hope to at least push to get the issue on the agenda, which would be a success in itself," McBride said in a briefing on Laura Bush's activities next week at UN headquarters in New York City.

Bush will host a roundtable discussion on Burma next Tuesday, according to McBride, who said the United Nations, US government and non-governmental organizations would be represented.

In a statement, Bush's office said she hoped to "raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Burma and to help gain support for a US-sponsored UN Security Resolution to call out Burma for political and human rights violations."

Washington has led efforts to force Yangon to change its repressive policies and notably release democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for most of the past 17 years.

Burma in May extended her detention for another year, defying an international outcry demanding freedom for the 61-year-old Nobel peace laureate.

Her National League for Democracy party won 1990 elections but was never allowed to rule. Its offices have been shut down by the junta, which has also locked up many other party members.

The US resolution calls for "an all-inclusive political process," for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi "and other political prisoners," and for the junta "to ensure access and security for humanitarian workers," said Bush's office.

It also calls on the military regime "to take steps to end ethnic violence" against the Karen minority and "to address HIV/AIDS and drugs and human trafficking," according to the statement. (Agencies)

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Laura Bush aiding Clinton conference
By JENNIFER LOVEN Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Another member of the Bush family is getting cozy with former President Clinton.
First lady Laura Bush joins the former president as a keynote speaker opening his three-day Clinton Global Initiative in New York next week.
Clinton has famously formed a close friendship with the current president's dad. Clinton has been a repeat guest at the Kennebunkport, Maine, home of George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara.
Clinton also sparked curiosity when he was spotted at the White House last month. It turns out that he and the current president were having lunch, something White House aides said they do occasionally.
Now, aware of Laura Bush's involvement in issues that his foundation addresses, Clinton called several months ago to solicit her participation in the conference, said Anita McBride, her chief of staff.
Laura Bush agreed, hoping to tell people about the good that their tax dollars are doing and to persuade other nations of the United States' good intentions.
"We've got a good story to tell. We've got something to say," McBride said. "We've got something to show that we are not only as Americans a compassionate and generous country and she wants Americans to know that they're making a difference."
This year's Clinton Global Initiative is a follow-up to the 2005 event that brought $2.5 billion in pledges to help solve challenges such as the HIV infection in Africa.
The first lady's speech next Wednesday will cover topics such as literacy and education, AIDS and women's rights that she has highlighted in her travels. They include 11 solo trips to 27 countries in the nearly six years of her husband's presidency.
She also is bringing a pledge of her own: the announcement of a partnership between the Bush administration and an American foundation to help provide clean drinking water in Africa _ a key component to improving health on the poverty-stricken continent.
McBride would say only that the project involves providing water-cleansing equipment for some of sub-Saharan Africa's most problem-ridden areas. She would not disclose details such as the dollar amount or the foundation partner.
While accompanying her husband to New York for the U.N. General Assembly next week, Laura Bush is hosting her own conference, on global literacy. She is the United Nations' honorary ambassador for the Decade of Literacy.
In addition, the first lady is doing her part to promote the administration's agenda on Myanmar.
She is holding a discussion with U.S., U.N. and nongovernmental organization representatives on the situation in the Southeast Asian nation that the administration has criticized for its repressive policies and detention of a pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
The country, also known as Burma, is known for violence against the ethnic Karen minority and a growing refugee problem.
U.S. officials, pessimistic about the prospects for Security Council action against Myanmar's military junta, hope Laura Bush's involvement can help.