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August 18, 2008

UN Envoy Begins Burma Visit
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1DC0387:A6F02AD83191E1608F09D1F83E458FF23CF5CDEF8FC051DA&
 
Ibrahim Gambari expected to focus on restarting stalled talks between
opposition, military rulers 
      Ibrahim Gambari (file photo)U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari
began a five-day visit to military-ruled Burma Monday. The trip is
expected to focus on restarting stalled talks between the opposition
National League for Democracy and the country's military rulers. Gambari
has visited Burma four times since the country's military rulers carried
out a bloody crackdown on democracy protests last September. Previous
talks have yielded few results. Western diplomats in Rangoon say Gambari
will try to persuade Burma's military junta to revive its dialogue with
detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and address the key issue of
political prisoners. The former Nigerian foreign minister is expected to
meet directly with Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been held under house
arrest for more than 12 of the past 18 years. On Sunday, Burma's
military government allowed Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, to
meet with her lawyer at her Rangoon home for over four hours.

 

 

 Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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