The United Nations says its special envoy for Burma arrived in the
country Saturday for a four-day visit to broker fresh talks with the
ruling military about political reforms.
The office of U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement Ibrahim Gambari is
visiting Burma at the invitation of the government to continue talks on
national reconciliation.
The statement said the U.N. chief has
asked his special adviser to continue his consultations with Burma's
government and other relevant parties. It said Mr. Ban looks forward
to Gambari's discussions on all the points raised during his last visit.
After
his last mission to Burma in August, Gambari expressed disappointment
that his efforts to convince Burma's military government to implement
political reform did not produce tangible results.
Burma's top leader, General Than Shwe, and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi refused to meet with him.
Aung
San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, Burma's main opposition
party, described Gambari's efforts as ineffective. And a group of 12
ethnic minority parties criticized him for failing to meet with some of
the key opposition leaders.
The National League for Democracy
won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but the military, which has
ruled the country since 1962, never allowed it to take power.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of the last 19 years in house arrest.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
