UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is still reportedly searching for a new special envoy to Burma to succeed the Nigerian diplomat Ibrahim Gambari.

Ban has said that his chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar, has been continuously engaging himself with the Burmese authorities. More consultations would be held as soon as a clearer picture emerged of regime intentions, he said.

It's doubtful, however, that the regime leaders, in this election year, will be  ready to accommodate a new UN envoy, who is unlikely to  achieve any meaningful breakthrough in the absence of political will on the part of junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe. A ceremonial welcome at Naypyidaw is as much as can be expected.

Some political analysts have suggested holding up the appointment of a new envoy until after the election. If the UN wants to continue to engage Burma before the election, it should keep open a line of communication there and perhaps send a mid-level fact-finding UN delegation to Burma and neighboring countries.

Analysts suggest that UN officials need public consultation to appoint a new UN envoy. They say that before appointing an envoy, the UN needs to identify its own strength, leverage, pressure and opportunity in Burma and to make a thorough analysis and map out a strategy. It will be a failed mission again unless the UN conducts a thorough analysis and engages in some soul- searching over failed missions of the past.       

After the 1988 uprising, the UN dispatched several UN envoys to Burma, but they all failed miserably. Burma has become a graveyard for UN envoys.

In view of these failures, some do's and don'ts  are perhaps in order when selecting a new envoy:

• Do appoint someone with in-depth knowledge of Burma, who understands the political landscape there and who respects the dignity of the people of Burma and Southeast Asia.
• Do select a person who has a solid background on the reconciliation process in conflict zones.
• Do select a person who could gain the trust and confidence of the regime, the opposition, ethnic leaders and Burmese activists.
• Do appoint a person who will not become a spin doctor of the UN and the regime.
• Do select a person who is willing to listen to all sides and who is willing to engage with all stake-holders inside and outside Burma.
• Do select a person who is honest and willing to admit failure instead of keeping the process in limbo.
• Don't select a person who will become a mouthpiece of the regime, aid groups and business people.
• Don't select a person who will not do the necessary homework and conduct thorough analysis.
• Don't select someone who stands to reap personal gain from the job and who has a conflict of interests in Burma.
• Don't select someone who will allow the regime to organize visits and arrange schedules to include attendance at regime-organized rallies, where the opposition and ethnic groups are denounced.
• Don't select someone who will spend his time at Rangoon's Traders Hotel nursing hangovers after late-night drinking sessions with Burmese girls
• Don't select someone just for the sake of filling the UN musical chairs. And don't, under any circumstances, appoint anyone from Nigeria.