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Special envoy to Myanmar meets junta, opposition

Soldiers patrol the streets to monitor protesters movements in downtown Yangon, Myanmar, yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

UN envoy to Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari held back-to-back meetings yesterday with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar junta in his bid to defuse the political crisis that has engulfed the country.

But Gambari failed to see either the junta leader, Senior General Than Shwe, or his deputy early yesterday, and was returning later to the junta's headquarters for a possible third meeting.

Gambari "looks forward to meeting [with] 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, 385km 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 General Maung Aye.

The swift diplomatic developments occurred as thousands of troops locked down Myanmar's largest cities yesterday.

Scores of people were arrested overnight, further weakening a flagging uprising to end 45 years of military dictatorship that began on Aug. 19 with protests against fuel price increases.

A video shot yesterday by a dissident group, Democratic Voice of Burma, showed the body of a Burmese 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 yesterday, he returned to Yangon and was whisked to the State Guest House to meet Aung San 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 Aung San 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 yesterday evening, raising hopes that he could still meet Than Shwe or Maung Aye. It was also possible that he was carrying a message from Aung San Suu Kyi to the leadership.

The number of troops in Yangon swelled to about 20,000 yesterday after reinforcements arrived overnight, ensuring that almost all demonstrators would remain off the streets, an Asian diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

Pope Benedict XVI joined world leaders yesterday in expressing serious concern about the situation in Myanmar. About 1 percent of the country's 54 million people are Catholics. Another 3 percent belong to other Christian denominations.

Meanwhile, authorities in Myanmar were detaining a journalist reporting for a Japanese newspaper for the third day yesterday, his family members said.

Min Zaw, a Myanmar national working for the Tokyo Shimbun, was taken from his home early on Friday by plainclothes security personnel who said he would be held temporarily for questioning.

Family members said his mobile telephone was taken away but he was allowed to bring a change of clothing with him as well as medicine.

Min Zaw, 56, suffers from diabetes and hypertension.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Myanmar, which includes two dozen Burmese journalists officially accredited to foreign media organizations, on Saturday sent a letter to the government asking for Min Zaw's early release, citing his medical problems.

Family members said Min Zaw was reporting on the ongoing pro-democracy demonstrations against the military regime in Myanmar, and was not involved in any political activity.

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