Philippine Star - Articles - -Envoy expected to meet Myanmar democracy activists

Philippine Star - Articles - -: "YANGON (AP) -Leaders of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party hope to meet a UN human rights investigator who was in Myanmar on Monday, days before the 20th anniversary of a failed uprising against the country's military rulers.



Human Rights Council investigator for Myanmar Tomas Ojea Quintana has asked to meet government officials, representatives of ethnic groups and political parties, a U.N. statement said.

There was no mention of a meeting with opposition leader Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.

Quintana wishes 'to engage in a constructive dialogue with the authorities to improve (the) human rights situation of people of Myanmar,' the statement said.

Quintana arrived in Myanmar on Sunday and will stay until Thursday, a day before the 20th anniversary of the 1988 uprising against the military junta. The government has already strengthened security ahead of the anniversary, fearing it could be used by pro-democracy activists to launch further protests against the junta.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi, said members of her National League for Democracy party have not been told whether they will be able to see Quintana but said they hope to press him about her access to a doctor.

'One of our concerns is to seek regular visits to Suu Kyi's personal physician,' Nyan Win said Sunday, adding that she has not seen her physician, Dr. Tin Myo Win, since early May.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy movement, killing as many as 3,000 people. It called elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results when Suu Kyi's party won overwhelmingly"