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Burma's Suu Kyi Meets Party Leaders

Reuters
Jan 30, 2008

Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Win (Romeo Gacad/AFP/Getty Images)


YANGON—Detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met leaders of her National League for Democracy party for the second time in three months on Wednesday, party spokesman Nyan Win said.

He did not reveal details of the 90-minute discussions but said Aung Kyi, a liaison minister appointed by the ruling junta after last year's bloody crackdown on democracy protests, was due to hold another meeting with Suu Kyi immediately afterwards.

NLD number two Tin Oo, who like Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since May 2003, was not allowed to attend the meeting, held at a government guest house under heavy armed guard.

Ever since the crackdown, in which the United Nations says at least 31 people were killed, Burma's military rulers have been under unprecedented international pressure to hold talks with Suu Kyi about moving towards civilian rule.

Despite admitting U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari twice, the generals have failed to embark on any sort of programme of negotiations, and human rights groups say they are continuing to arrest dissidents and democracy activists.

Police arrested a popular political blogger, Nay Phone Latt, at a Yangon Internet cafe on Tuesday, a local journalist who asked not to be named told Reuters.

The U.N.'s Gambari, who wanted to return to Burma (called Myanmar by the ruling military junta) before the end of 2007, is still waiting for a visa.

Suu Kyi and the NLD won an election landslide in 1990 but were denied power by the military, which has ruled in one form or another since a 1962 coup. During that time, the once-promising economy has collapsed.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi has spent more than 12 of the last 18 years in prison or under house arrest.



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