The 19 May meeting was also important for ASEAN because the members wanted to avoid a repeat of the Gambari debacle when, having agreed to allow Ibrahim Gambari, the UN Special Envoy to Burma, to attend the East Asian Summit in November 2007 and debrief members on political developments in the country, including the suppression of protestors during the Saffron Revolution, Burma’s government changed its mind. The unpredictable nature of the Burmese regime therefore meant ASEAN wanted to avoid a situation where history repeated itself. Securing Burma’s agreement for an ASEAN role at a specially convened meeting confirmed ASEAN’s central position in the relief effort.