From Miliband’s most recent blog post. The British were supportive of Ban’s recent trip to Burma.
Ban Ki Moon deserves credit for not taking no for an answer from the Burmese authorities. He refused to postpone his visit – a visit that he promised to make when he visited the country at the time of Cyclone Nargis to discuss political and economic reform. Ban’s closing speech was clear and definitive – the regime’s refusal to engage properly was reprehensible.
The easy course would have been to be put off. Now he will report to the Security Council and every member will need to decide how much they care about the refusal of the regime to accept basic international norms. The temptation is to say no visit should go ahead without pre-promising of the results. But sometimes it is worth the risk. This is one such case.