Diplomat: Suu Kyi meets with govt

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi — under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years — met for about one hour with a Myanmar government official Thursday; 25 October 2007; afternoon, a diplomat said.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, was driven a few minutes from her home to a government guest house, where she held talks with newly appointed liaison minister, Aung Kyi. The information came from a diplomat who did not want to be identified for political reasons.

A retired major general, Aung Kyi was appointed to the post on Oct. 8 to hold talks with Suu Kyi.

It is not clear if this is Suu Kyi's first meeting with Aung Kyi.

His exact duties have not been detailed, but it appeared Aung Kyi would coordinate all of Suu Kyi's contacts with both the regime and the United Nations, which is seeking to end the political deadlock between democracy advocates and the junta.

Myanmar's government has been strongly criticized for sending troops to quash peaceful protests in late September. The military junta said 10 people were killed, but diplomats and dissidents say the death toll is likely much higher. Thousands were arrested, and the hunt for participants is reportedly continuing.

Meanwhile, a U.N. envoy met Chinese officials for a second day of talks Thursday to push Beijing to do more to get Myanmar's military junta to stop its crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

Making his fifth stop in a six-nation tour, Ibrahim Gambari met Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi a day after Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei expressed backing for the U.N. envoy's efforts.

"We will continue to support you in playing a constructive role in finding a peaceful resolution in Myanmar," Wang said before the two began their closed-door talks.

China — a political partner of Myanmar's junta and one of its top trading partners — has joined U.N. Security Council members in criticizing the crackdown and has nudged the junta to talk with Gambari. But it also has blocked the Security Council from imposing sanctions or taking stronger action.

Myanmar's military has ruled the country since 1962. The current junta took power in 1988 after crushing the democracy movement led by Suu Kyi. In 1990, it refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's party won a landslide election victory.