Myanmar opposition leader has rare talks with diplomats (3rd Roundup)

Oct 9, 2009, 10:38 GMT

   Yangon - Detained Myanmar pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday held a rare meeting with foreign diplomats to discuss Western sanctions imposed on the pariah state, sources said.

   Suu Kyi was escorted from her home-cum-prison in Yangon to the state-owned Seinle Kantha Guesthouse, where she met with acting US Charge d'Affaires Thomas Vajda; British Ambassador Andrew Heyn, who represented the European Union; and Australian Deputy Head of Mission Simon Christopher Starr.

   'Aung San Suu Kyi sought the meeting to obtain information about the sanctions policies of the Australian and the United States governments and the European Union to inform her discussions with the State Peace and Development Council,' the Australian embassy said in a statement following the talks, using the official name of Myanmar's ruling military junta.

    'The government [of Australia] sees this as a positive step by both the Burmese authorities and Aung San Suu Kyi,' the statement added. 'Aung San Suu Kyi appeared to be in good health.'

   The surprise meeting followed two sessions of talks this month between Suu Kyi and the junta's liaison, Relations Minister Aung Kyi, to discuss her proposal to help end sanctions against the regime, which has kept her under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.

   Suu Kyi sent a letter September 25 to the junta's leader, Senior General Than Shwe, offering to help persuade Western democracies to lift their economic sanctions.

   Suu Kyi, 64, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party, asked Than Shwe permission to meet with Western diplomats and expressed willingness to cooperate with the junta on sanctions if three points were discussed: which countries imposed economic sanctions, their impact and the reason why they were imposed.

   International sanctions have been imposed on Myanmar since 1988 when the military brutally cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrations, leaving an estimated 3,000 people dead.

   The United States and the European Union increased their sanctions after the junta first refused to acknowledge the NLD's victory in 1990 elections and then arrested critics and suppressed all forms of dissent. Many of the sanctions target the top generals specifically.

   Than Shwe hinted this year that he would be willing to open a political dialogue with Suu Kyi if she agreed to cooperate on the sanctions issue.

   Most Western nations have demanded that Than Shwe release Suu Kyi and about 2,000 other political prisoners as a first step toward democratization in the country, which has been under military rule since 1962. Suu Kyi and the NLD demand the same thing.

'While we welcome the opportunity to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, we continue to urge Burmese authorities to release her and all other political prisoners from detention immediately and without condition,' US embassy spokesman Drake Weisert said after the unusual meeting with Suu Kyi.

   Washington recently announced a new policy of greater 'engagement' with Myanmar. It is calling on the military to improve its human rights record, allow democratic reforms and release political prisoners ahead of a planned general election in 2010.