General Strike

Burma's brutal military junta could always count on a sympathetic hearing from Razali Ismail. As the U.N.'s special envoy to Burma, Razali argued that it was possible to engage the ruling generals in dialogue. His softly-softly approach seemed to yield results. A year ago, he brokered the release of democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi after 19 months of house arrest and secured what he thought was a firm commitment from junta boss General Than Shwe to negotiate with her about the country's political future. But last Saturday, Razali was back to...