UN Envoy Meets With Suu Kyi, Junta

09/30/2007

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - A U.N. envoy met Sunday with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi after meeting with Myanmar's military rulers as he sought a peaceful solution to the government's crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.

The separate talks occurred as thousands of troops locked down Myanmar's largest cities Sunday. Scores of people were arrested overnight, further weakening an uprising that sought to end 45 years of military dictatorship.

Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N.'s special envoy to Myanmar, went to the remote bunker-like capital Naypyitaw on Saturday to meet with the junta and stayed overnight, foreign Asian diplomats said.

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 the U.N. envoy in what appeared to be an unexpected concession by the junta.

The meeting with Suu Kyi lasted about 90 minutes, said the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. Details of the meeting were not immediately known.

The diplomatic effort comes after the military government launched a bloody crackdown last week on demonstrations that first began Aug. 19 to protest a sharp increase in fuel prices.

Over time, thousands of Buddhist monks, who revered in this impoverished country, joined the people in venting anger at decades of brutal military rule. At the height of the protests, some 70,000 people turned out.

The junta, which has a long history of snuffing out dissent, cracked down Wednesday and Thursday, opening fire into a crowd of peaceful protesters and arresting scores. Though the official death toll is 10, foreign diplomats and dissident groups say the number is likely much higher.

Despite Gambari's meetings, it was not clear how much influence the junta will allow him to exert on Myanmar's affairs.

The U.N. has repeatedly failed to bring about a reconciliation between the military government and the pro-democracy opposition. Gambari and his predecessor, Razali Ismail of Malaysia, have also failed to secure freedom for Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace prize winner who has come to symbolize the struggle for democracy in Myanmar.

Her National League for Democracy party won the 1990 general elections, which the junta called after crushing a much larger pro-democracy movement in 1988. But the party was never allowed to take power, and many of its top members were jailed. Suu Kyi has spent 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest.

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

"The security forces are demonstrating their strength," he said. "I think the chance of protesters coming to the road and mobilizing enough people to topple the junta is zero."

A few monks were seen in a neighborhood on their customary morning round for alms.

"We are not going to protest any more. Rather we will conduct peaceful protests. We Buddhists believe that dhamma (Buddha's teachings) will finally win over evil," said one monk.

People suspected of leading or organizing this week's rallies continue to be arrested, the Asian diplomat said, estimating the total number could be as high as 1,000, including several prominent members of the NLD. They joined an estimated 1,100 other political detainees who have languished in jails since before the current turmoil began.

With the main prison overcrowded, people are now being detained in university buildings and educational institutes, he said.

Monks and residents spoke on condition of anonymity fearing reprisals.

"We apologize to foreigners for feeling unsafe ... People in this country are very nice and gentle, but the soldiers are very rough," said one resident.

A resident who identified himself as Ko Hla wrote on his Internet blog that troops in downtown Yangon were searching every bag. "If someone got caught with a camera in it, they would arrest him. They arrested anyone that they suspect," he wrote.

The crackdown has triggered an unprecedented verbal flaying of Myanmar's generals from almost every corner of the world - even some criticism from No. 1 ally China, which said it was "very much concerned about the current situation."

It urged the ruling junta to "exercise restraint and use peaceful means to restore its stability as soon as possible."

Many people see China, Myanmar's biggest trading partner, as the most likely outside catalyst for change.

But China, India and Russia do not seem prepared to go beyond words in dealing with the junta, ruling out sanctions as they jostle for a chance to get at Myanmar's bountiful and largely untapped natural resources, especially its oil and gas.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, a 10-member bloc which includes Myanmar, has expressed its "revulsion" at the crackdown, but given no indication that it is considering an expulsion or any other action.