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UN envoy meets
Suu Kyi as troops lock down Yangon
WSN Network
Yangon: A United Nations envoy held meetings with detained
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar junta, in an
attempt to end the country’s biggest crisis in 19 years as a massive
show of force by troops cleared the streets of people protesting for
democracy.
But Ibrahim
Gambari, the UN’s special envoy to Myanmar, failed to see either the
junta leader, Senior Gen Than Shwe, or his deputy in his scheduled
meetings early on Sunday, and was returning later to the junta’s
headquarters for a possible third meeting.
Gambari “looks
forward to meeting Than Shwe” before he leaves the region, a UN
statement said.
It said Gambari met the acting prime minister, the deputy foreign
minister and the ministers of information and culture in the junta’s
new bunker-like capital Naypyitaw, 385 km north of Yangon. While
these officials have senior positions in the ruling coterie, the
final say in all decisions rests with Than Shwe, and to some extent
Deputy Senior Gen Maung Aye.
The swift
diplomatic developments occurred as thousands of troops locked down
Myanmar’s largest cities on Sunday. Scores of people were arrested
overnight, further weakening a flagging uprising to end 45 years of
military dictatorship that began on August 19 with protests against
fuel price increases.
The protests
drew international attention after thousands of Buddhist monks
joined the people in venting anger at decades of brutal military
rule. At the height of the protests, some 70,000 people turned out,
which were crushed on Wednesday and Thursday when government troops
opened fire into the crowds. The government says 10 people were
killed but independent sources say the number is far higher.
A video shot on
Sunday by a dissident group, Democratic Voice of Burma, showed a
monk, covered in bruises, floating face down in a Yangon river. It
was not clear how long the body had been in the river. Gambari’s
efforts began on Saturday when he came from Singapore to Yangon and
was immediately flown to Naypyitaw. After his meetings on Sunday, he
returned to Yangon and was whisked to the state guest house to meet
Suu Kyi, who was brought out of house arrest to see him in what
appeared to be an unexpected concession by the junta.
Gambari and Suu
Kyi met for over an hour, the UN statement said, but gave no
details.
An Asian
diplomat said that Gambari flew back to Naypyitaw on Sunday evening,
raising hopes that he could still meet Than Shwe or Maung Aye. It
was also possible that he was carrying a message from Suu Kyi to the
leadership.
“He must have
started his subtle diplomacy. With Gambari’s diplomatic skills
things will work out fine,” the diplomat said.
3 October, 2007
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