The UN's special envoy to Myanmar returns to the military-ruled country today for his third attempt to coax democratic reforms out of the junta since its deadly crackdown on protesting monks and students last September.
Ibrahim Gambari's visit to Myanmar comes after a tour of Asian countries last month, his latest mission to push Myanmar's neighbors to urge the junta to restore democracy and begin reconciliation talks with the opposition. Gambari met leaders in China, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan.
Gambari "hopes to stay as long as necessary" in Myanmar and to meet with "all the groups he was not able to see during his last visit," the UN said in a statement. It added that his itinerary was still under discussion with the junta.
The UN envoy was shunned by Myanmar's leader, Senior General Than Shwe, when he last visited in November. The junta also rejected his proposal of a three-way meeting involving detained pro-democracy leader and Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, though Gambari did meet privately with her.
Gambari said recently he was "frustrated" at the lack of tangible results from his visits to Myanmar.
"I'm asking to be allowed to see more people, with more freedom and to stay longer, that's my wish," he said last month in Jakarta.
Myanmar's junta has been strongly criticized for sending troops to quash peaceful demonstrations in late September.
The government said 10 people were killed, but diplomats and dissidents say the death toll was much higher. Thousands of monks and civilians were arrested.
Gambari's latest visit follows the junta's surprise announcement last month that it would hold a May referendum on a draft constitution and will hold general elections in 2010 -- the first specific dates for its so-called "roadmap to democracy."
Critics have denounced the roadmap as a sham designed to keep the military in power.
Guidelines used to write the draft constitution effectively bar Aung San Suu Kyi from holding national office because she was married to a foreigner -- her late British husband, Michael Aris -- and enjoyed the privileges of a foreign national.
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