UN envoy meets ministers, diplomats in Myanmar

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UN envoy meets ministers, diplomats in Myanmar

The Associated Press
Sunday, February 1, 2009
YANGON, Myanmar: The United Nations' special envoy to Myanmar met Sunday with government ministers and diplomats in a renewed effort to promote political reform in the military-ruled country, officials and diplomats said.

It remained unclear whether U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari would be able to meet with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his four-day visit, which started Saturday. The trip, his seventh, comes amid criticism that he has failed to produce significant results.

Gambari told diplomats that his objectives are to urge the release of political prisoners, discuss the country's ailing economy and revive a dialogue between Suu Kyi and the junta, a Western diplomat said.



The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of protocol, said Gambari was also preparing for a possible visit by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, but did not elaborate.

Ban visited Myanmar last May after Cyclone Nargis devastated coastal areas and persuaded the junta's top leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, to ease access for foreign aid workers and relief supplies.

Gambari met Sunday with Aung Kyi, the government minister responsible for relations with Suu Kyi, but it remained unclear whether he would meet the detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a government official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

It also was unclear whether Gambari would see Than Shwe, who has shunned the envoy during his last three visits.

The country's pro-democracy movement has been disappointed by Gambari's previous visits, which have failed to secure the release of Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi, 63, who has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest, refused to see Gambari during his last visit in August, but her party spokesman said Saturday that he "strongly believes she will meet the special envoy this time."

The U.N. secretary-general expressed frustration after Gambari's August visit when the junta ignored requests that it release political prisoners and resume dialogue with Suu Kyi.

Myanmar's military, which has ruled the country since 1962, when it was known as Burma, tolerates no dissent and crushed pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks in September 2007. Human rights groups say it holds more than 2,100 political prisoners, up sharply from nearly 1,200 before the demonstrations.

The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a nationwide pro-democracy movement. It held elections in 1990 but refused to honor the results after Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory.

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