Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said she expects more meetings to take place between her and the government liaison minister to discuss the lifting of sanctions, her lawyer said.
Suu Kyi met with her lawyers on Friday at the end of a fortnight in which she held two separate meetings with junta liaison minister Aung Kyi and Western diplomats.
It was the second time in a month that Suu Kyi has met with Aung Kyi. The initial meeting between the two on 3 October was the first time that Aung Kyi, who was assigned as interlocutor between her and the government, met with the detained opposition leader since January 2008.
Friday’s meeting was primarily to discuss her pending court appeal, although lawyer Nyan Win said that Suu Kyi expected to meet with Aung Kyi again, as well as a possible meeting with senior members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
Specific details of the NLD leader’s meeting with Aung Kyi have been kept quiet, although it is believed to be linked to a letter sent by Suu Kyi to junta chief Than Shwe urging for dialogue between the two over the lifting of international sanctions on Burma.
Nyan Win told DVB that the two discussed “the impact of the sanctions, and how to go about carrying out the tasks that were mentioned in the letter”.
Suu Kyi has also agreed to allow lawyers to present an appeal over her house arrest to Burma’s Supreme Court after it was rejected earlier this month by a Rangoon prison court.
A draft appeal is currently being prepared, according to Nyan Win who expects it to be filed within the next seven to ten days after receiving approval from Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi was sentenced in August to 18 months under house arrest following the visit of US citizen John Yettaw to her lakeside compound in May.
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
US deputy secretary of state to visit Burma
Burmese opposition party members who met with United States embassy staff yesterday were told that Washington will soon send its deputy secretary of state to the country, a party spokesperson said.
It would mark the most high profile visit of a US politician to Burma in over a decade, and comes shortly after the Obama administration announced it would begin direct engagement with the military regime.
The head of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party’s information wing, Khin Maung Swe, said that three US diplomats led by embassy chargé d'affaires, Larry Dinger, met with NLD members at the party headquarters in Rangoon yesterday.
“It seemed like they came for a fact-finding mission before the [deputy] secretary’s visit,” said Khin Maung Swe. “They said they will also meet with other groups, just not only the NLD, so it’s quite likely that they are fact-finding.”
The last senior US politician to visit Burma was Senator Jim Webb, who arrived in the country in August and secured the release of imprisoned US citizen John Yettaw.
His visit was widely seen as a first step in the decision by the US to open up dialogue with the junta after years of isolation.
Accompanying the embassy staff was an official from the US government’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, he said.
It is the first time that diplomats from the US have visited the party’s headquarters since the policy change was announced in September.
Khin Maung Swe said that NLD members were asked questions similar to those put forward by the 20 diplomats from European Union countries who visited the headquarters last week.
“They asked about our plan for the 2010 elections and our opinion on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s activity regarding the sanctions,” he said.
The detained opposition leader last month sent a letter to junta chief Than Shwe urging for dialogue between the two regarding the lifting of sanctions.
This was followed by two meetings between Suu Kyi and the Burmese junta’s liaison officer, Aung Kyi, reportedly to discuss the content of the letter. Suu Kyi also held a rare meeting with three Western diplomats on 9 October, also to discuss sanctions.
It appears to signal a shift in attitude by the government, which normally places tight restrictions on contact between Suu Kyi and foreign envoys.
It would mark the most high profile visit of a US politician to Burma in over a decade, and comes shortly after the Obama administration announced it would begin direct engagement with the military regime.
The head of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party’s information wing, Khin Maung Swe, said that three US diplomats led by embassy chargé d'affaires, Larry Dinger, met with NLD members at the party headquarters in Rangoon yesterday.
“It seemed like they came for a fact-finding mission before the [deputy] secretary’s visit,” said Khin Maung Swe. “They said they will also meet with other groups, just not only the NLD, so it’s quite likely that they are fact-finding.”
The last senior US politician to visit Burma was Senator Jim Webb, who arrived in the country in August and secured the release of imprisoned US citizen John Yettaw.
His visit was widely seen as a first step in the decision by the US to open up dialogue with the junta after years of isolation.
Accompanying the embassy staff was an official from the US government’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, he said.
It is the first time that diplomats from the US have visited the party’s headquarters since the policy change was announced in September.
Khin Maung Swe said that NLD members were asked questions similar to those put forward by the 20 diplomats from European Union countries who visited the headquarters last week.
“They asked about our plan for the 2010 elections and our opinion on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s activity regarding the sanctions,” he said.
The detained opposition leader last month sent a letter to junta chief Than Shwe urging for dialogue between the two regarding the lifting of sanctions.
This was followed by two meetings between Suu Kyi and the Burmese junta’s liaison officer, Aung Kyi, reportedly to discuss the content of the letter. Suu Kyi also held a rare meeting with three Western diplomats on 9 October, also to discuss sanctions.
It appears to signal a shift in attitude by the government, which normally places tight restrictions on contact between Suu Kyi and foreign envoys.
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