Summary
Prime Minister of Burma whose May-June 1955 visit to Israel, in Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace, was a neutralist mediation offer between Israel and Egypt that Israel never took up — the book’s exhibit, under the heading “They did not accept U Nu’s offer”, of the rapprochement chance abandoned for deeper integration into the West’s strategic system (Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace, PDF p.371-373).
Details
- U Nu arrived in Israel on 29 May 1955; it quickly became clear that one purpose of the visit, if not the main purpose, was to try to mediate between Israel and Egypt (Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace, PDF p.371).
- At the reception in his honour at the King David hotel he said: “Achievements such as the conquest of the wilderness are more meaningful and their influence is more lasting than military conquests which cannot but corrupt human life and property and all the values for which humanity exists”, and described Burma’s policy as one “for peace and friendship based on its firm belief that war, besides the fact that it cannot solve any problem, acts as a crucible for the proliferation of additional problems” — a sentence the book notes Davar omitted from its article on the reception (Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace, PDF p.372).
- His advisor Mr. Thant told Maariv’s reporter (4 June 1955) that “Mr. Nu is of the view that an accord or arrangement between Israel and Egypt is the primary condition for the relaxation for tensions in the Middle East and for the establishment of peace there” and that “Nu is prepared to mediate between Israel and Egypt, if he is asked to do so by both sides”; at his press conference the next day U Nu hinted “Burma does not belong to any military bloc or alliance. Lessons can be learned from us in that domain”, and answered that “no side has yet asked me for that” (Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace, PDF p.372).
- The government of Israel did not ask U Nu to begin mediation efforts; at the same time it rejected Gamal Abd al-Nasser’s proposal, transmitted through General Burns, for a demilitarized zone on the Gaza border, and exactly two days after U Nu’s arrival the Foreign Minister announced in the Knesset Israel’s desire to enter into a military alliance with a “great power” (Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace, PDF p.372-373).
Related pages
Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace, Gamal Abd al-Nasser, Bandung Conference, Non-alignment