" The ongoing offensives by Burma?s ruling State Peace & Development Council (SPDC) military junta have already been analysed in KHRG?s previous Commentary (#2006-C1), released just one week ago on May 19th. That commentary demonstrated that these attacks are not targeting the armed opposition, but are deliberately aimed at destroying the homes and food supplies of Karen hill villagers and shooting men, women and children on sight in a systematic attempt to wipe them out. International law, particularly the UN Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), defines this as genocide, and it also stands in violation of every international human rights convention and of international humanitarian law as expressed in the Geneva Conventions. However, in the past week it has become clear that the United Nations Secretariat is attempting to cover up this genocide and bring about a normalisation of relations with the SPDC regime, without even insisting that the regime stop its military attacks on civilians. From May 18th to 20th, UN under-secretary general for political affairs Ibrahim Gambari visited Rangoon. Second to Kofi Annan in the UN bureaucracy, he is the most senior UN official to visit Burma in years. The visit came at a time when international outcry against the SPDC?s attacks on Karen villagers was reaching its height, and activists and the US government were demanding that Burma be placed on the agenda of the UN Security Council. On April 28th this year, the Council passed Resolution 1674 noting that the ?deliberate targeting of civilians … and the commission of systematic, flagrant and widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law … may constitute a threat to international peace and security” and expressing its ?readiness to consider such situations and, where necessary, to adopt appropriate steps”. So one would expect Gambari to have spent much of his time insisting that the SPDC immediately cease its genocidal attacks against Karen villagers. He did not. Instead he focused most of his efforts on encouraging the SPDC to release one person ? Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) political party. He expressed ?concern” over the Karen offensive ? UN language for ?we have noticed, but we will not interfere” ? and suggested that the SPDC cease the attacks, but then went on to talk about how the SPDC could go about securing more foreign aid...."