UN envoy meets Suu Kyi


Suu Kyi, right, welcomed the talks with Nambia, left, as 'very valuable' [EPA]

A senior United Nations official has met Myanmar's recently released pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon.


Vijay Nambiar, the UN special representative on Myanmar, held nearly two hours of talks with Suu Kyi and senior members of her officially disbanded National League for Democracy on Saturday.

In brief remarks to reporters after the meeting, Suu Kyi said that the talks at her lakeside home were "very valuable".

"But one meeting is not enough. I hope this is the first of many meetings. I think we may need many and frequent meetings to sort out all the problems we are facing," she said.

Suu Kyi was released on November 13 after more than seven years under house arrest and has since held a number of meetings with diplomats, UN representatives, politicians and international agencies.

Democracy campaign

The 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate has made it clear since gaining her freedom that she plans to continue her campaign for a democratic Myanmar but has been careful not to explicitly challenge the ruling generals.

"This is the highest profile visit Aung San Suu Kyi has received since coming out of house arrest," Al Jazeera's special correspondent in Myanmar, who we are not naming due to reporting restrictions, said.

"I don't think there is any kind of suggestion that he [Nambiar] is going to be a go-between in negotiations between Suu Kyi and the generals here ... but certainly I am sure he will be discussing with Suu Kyi the question of dialogue.

The government has given her a largely free rein since her release, the country's supreme court, however, recently refused to reinstate her party, which was officially disbanded after failing to register itself ahead of national elections on November 7.

Dominated by parties made up of former military officials or supporting the current military government, the election was widely criticised abroad.

Nambiar, the chief of staff for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, will also hold talks with the foreign minister and secretary-general of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party on Saturday, The Associated Press news agency reported, citing diplomatic sources.

However, he is now expected to visit the capital Naypyidaw during his two-day stay in the country.

This is Nambiar's first visit to Myanmar since he took over the position of former special envoy Ibrahim Gambari who last visited the country in June 2009.

He is a former Indian ambassador to China and is believed to have a good relationship with Beijing, a key ally of the Myanmar government.

Source:http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/11/2010112742422382675.html

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