The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, faced a barrage of criticism tonight for apparently praising the Burmese junta without winning any concessions over human rights or a move towards democracy.
Ban was under pressure to produce concrete results from his two-day mission to Burma, which was criticized as providing an endorsement to the Burmese leadership just as it is staging a trial of the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
The high-stakes visit to Burma comes at a critical time for Ban, whose low-key approach to his job has been criticised as ineffectual. He came under further fire on arrival in Naypyidaw, the regime's headquarters, when he told the head of the junta, General Than Shwe: "I appreciate your commitment to moving your country forward."
"That is absolute nonsense," said Brad Adams, a Burma specialist at Human Rights Watch. "It's just what we implored him not to say, to make these diplomatic gaffes. Than Shwe has steadily moved his country backwards."
British officials were also furious at the remarks. They had urged Ban not to visit Burma, and risk handing the junta a propaganda prize with his visit, without first ensuring he would gain concessions in the form of the release of political prisoners and steps towards genuine democracy.
"Only agreement to release all political prisoners [and] start a genuine dialogue with the opposition and ethnic groups will give any credibility to the elections in 2010," Gordon Brown said in an article in the US online magazine The Huffington Post. According to No 10, Brown calls Ban at least twice a week to discuss Burma.
"I hope that Ban Ki-moon can convince the generals to take the first steps," Brown said. "A serious offer is on the table: the international community will work with Burma if the generals are prepared to embark on a genuine transition to democracy. But if the Burmese regime refuses to engage, the international community must be prepared to respond robustly."
However, Than Shwe said little at his meeting with Ban, and did not grant the secretary general's request to meet Suu Kyi in prison. Ban expressed hope that a meeting could still be permitted.
"I am leaving tomorrow, so logically speaking I am waiting for a reply before my departure," he said. The secretary general added that he had called for the release of all political prisoners before the elections, but got no response. He said Than Shwe had assured him, however, that the vote had been "fair, free and transparent".
However, Adams said: "The benchmark for success can't be what it was in the past. A meeting with Than Shwe is not a success. Even a meeting with Suu Kyi shouldn't be counted as a success, if all it means is she goes from being in jail back to being under house arrest.
"We have cautioned against this trip because it seems to be a trip for its own sake without any prospect of success."
Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, is on trial because an American supporter entered her compound, breaking the terms of her house arrest. Suu Kyi's lawyers said the man swam to the compound without her permission and had been urged to leave. The trial was adjourned yesterday until 10 July.
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