Below is an email exchange recently held between Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s personal assistant Lavinia Browne and one of the [him] moderators. In reverse chronological order.

A partial answer to the [him] moderator’s question: "How does one go about telling two people of this stature that they have made a mistake?" is clear. One is unable tell Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The [him] moderator awaits a reply from Amartya Sen’s secretary.

[him] moderator

********************************

Browne:

Archbishop Tutu is not able to be in dialogue with you.  The op-ed has been published.  He does not claim to be an expert and presumably was using the best information available at the time. He is away from his office at present.

********************************

Mod:

Thanks. Has there been any response? I can write a longer explanation if necessary.

********************************

Browne:

I can forward your message to the Archbishop so he knows your opinion. He has the right to another opinion and to "agree to disagree" or simply not to continue the conversation if he so chooses.  But he values receiving information and opinions from those who are well informed.

********************************

Mod:

Thank you for your reply. I would like to ask your assistance in answering the question that the blog asks: "How does one go about telling two people of this stature that they have made a mistake?" How can I politely tell Desmond Tutu that he has made a mistake?

********************************

Browne:

Thank you for your comments.

********************************

Mod:

The UNSC vote is over. So it is time to set things right.

Mr Tutu and Mr Sen have made an error in their International Herald Tribune op ed last month. The following blog snippets outline the issues. There is no evidence that ignoring any epidemic leads to *resistant *strains. In South Africa or Myanmar.

Thank you and I look forward to a response at your earliest convenience.

>> ********************************
>>
>> http://www.hivinfo4mm.org/blog/_archives/2007/1/9/2624978.html
>>
>> More on Tutu and Sen and resistance
>>
>> by thehimmoderator on Tue 09 Jan 2007 05:30 MMT
>>
>> Last week in this forum
>> http://www.hivinfo4mm.org/blog/_archives/2007/1/4/2615727.html  the
>> [him] moderator asked if anyone could back up with evidence the
>> statement of Desmond Tutu and Amartya Sen that "lack of attention to
>> dealing with the AIDS crisis that has made Myanmar ground zero for
>> new, *resistant* strains of this horrible disease".
>>
>> None has been presented to [him] and so he thinks that they are just
>> plain wrong. How does one go about telling two people of this stature
>> that they have made a mistake? Ideas welcomed.
>>
>> [him] moderator
>>
>> ******************************
>>
>> http://www.hivinfo4mm.org/blog/_archives/2007/1/4/2615727.html
>>
>> Tutu and Sen appear to have fresh new evidence about drug resistance
>> in Myanmar / Burma
>>
>> Now no one would want to call these two septuagenarians wrong. We
>> respect them for courage in standing up to apartheid and for
>> developing the concept of development as freedom. But can Tutu or Sen
>> please present the humble [him] moderator a shred of evidence of
>> "lack of attention to dealing with the AIDS crisis that has made
>> Myanmar ground zero for new, *resistant *strains of this horrible
>> disease"? Do Tutu and Sen have brand new evidence that strains of HIV
>> found in Myanmar are *resistant*? Tutu's commissioned report last
>> September did not mention it ...
>>
>> ********************************
>>
>> The Burmese people deserve our support Desmond M. Tutu and Amartya
>> Sen International Herald Tribune
>> 22 December 2006
>>
>> Myanmar is the best example of what can go wrong when authoritarian
>> leaders spearhead economic development. For decades, a brutal
>> military junta has created a modern-day national nightmare, locking
>> up more than 1,100 political prisoners, virtually destroying the
>> country's education system, crushing any independent media, and
>> carrying out a brutal pogrom against ethnic groups in which more than
>> 3,000 of their villages have been destroyed. Not only are villages
>> wiped out, but these areas are mined to prevent anyone from returning.
>>
>> The Burmese people have firmly rejected authoritarian rule in their
>> country at every possible opportunity. In their last election, the
>> National League for Democracy, or NLD, the political party of Aung
>> San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient,
>> won >> 82 percent of the seats in Parliament. In the face of this
>> overwhelming vote for change, the military annulled the results.
>>
>> In 2003, during one of the brief times when she was not under arrest,
>> Suu Kyi toured the country and spoke of freedom and democracy to huge
>> crowds.
>  
>> The regime, feeling threatened, unleashed their thugs. In what has
>> become known as the May 30th massacre, more than 100 NLD members were
>> murdered and scores of others were brutally beaten.
>>
>> Over the past 15 years, the United Nations has been ineffective in
>> dealing with Myanmar's regime despite its efforts. The UN General
>> Assembly has passed 16 consecutive resolutions calling for change in
>> Myanmar; all have been ignored by the regime. The UN Commission on
>> Human Rights passed 13 consecutive resolutions, similarly ignored.
>>
>> In order to engage with the regime, the Commission on Human Rights
>> appointed four representatives to Myanmar. Each has made many trips
>> to meet with the regime. The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan,
>> appointed two special envoys to negotiate political change in
>> Myanmar, who have made repeated visits to the country only to be
dismissed by the junta.
>>
>> The slew of diplomats has been expertly managed by the regime. They
>> used the meetings to curry international favor for "engaging" with
>> the UN while tightening their grip on power and refusing to make any
>> real concessions.
>>
>> The latest UN envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, Annan's political chief, was
>> given the same treatment when he recently traveled to Myanmar. Like
>> previous UN envoys, he came away empty handed. Indeed, at the very
>> time he was meeting with Myanmar's generals, the military was engaged
>> in fresh attacks against ethnic minorities and sentenced two NLD
>> supporters to 14 years in prison.
>>
>> Just weeks after Gambari's departure, the International Committee of
>> the Red Cross's Myanmar operations remain severely restricted; the
>> International Labor Organization referred Myanmar to the UN Security
>> Council and the International Criminal Court for malfeasance in
>> respect to forced labor matte

rs.
>>
>> The twin failures of authoritarian-led development and traditional
>> diplomacy over the past 16 years must be acknowledged before progress
>> can be made. Myanmar has not only failed to develop, it is in the
>> grip of a gigantic humanitarian crisis, because of its governance.
>>
>> Myanmar has at last been put on the permanent agenda of the Security
>> Council. This has to be followed up. The council has previously acted
>> in situations less severe than Myanmar's.
>>
>> The junta is wreaking havoc not only within Myanmar but throughout
>> the region, by causing massive refugee flows, by acquiescing to the
>> trade in methamphetamines and heroin that is spilling across neighbors'
>> borders, and by its pernicious (some would say deliberate) lack of
>> attention to dealing with the AIDS crisis that has made Myanmar
>> ground zero for new, *resistant *strains of this horrible disease.
>> These threats were outlined in a report presented to the Security
>> Council in September of last year.
>>
>> Now that Myanmar is on the council's agenda, we urge the passage of a
>> nonpunitive resolution that will serve as a baseline for freeing
>> political prisoners, ceasing attacks against Myanmar's ethnic
>> minorities, and promoting a political dialogue that will lead to the
>> peace and freedom the overwhelming majority of the Burmese people
>> have demanded. The Burmese people deserve our unequivocal support and
>> effective action, which has been postponed far too long.
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------