Burma refuses request of UN chief
He seeks visit with opposition leader
NAYPYITAW, Burma - UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon could leave Burma empty-handed after apparently failing to win any concessions yesterday from the country’s top military ruler or to gain permission to visit opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in jail.
Ban talked for two hours with reclusive Senior General Than Shwe in an ornate reception hall in Naypyitaw, the junta’s remote, newly built capital.
It was a rocky start to what the UN chief predicted would be “a very tough mission’’ to win freedom for Suu Kyi, the 64-year-old Nobel Peace laureate who has been detained by the junta for nearly 14 of the past 20 years and is now on trial, charged with violating her house arrest.
The UN chief will press again today in another private meeting, a UN spokeswoman said. He also will continue to seek other reforms that include democratization, fair elections, economic cooperation, and freedom for her and all other political prisoners.
Ban emerged from yesterday’s meeting saying he still hoped to meet Suu Kyi before he leaves the country tonight.
“I told him that I wanted to meet her, but he told me that she is [on] trial,’’ Ban told reporters after meeting with Than Shwe. “But I told him that this is my proposal, and this is important, and I’m waiting for their reply.’’
It was Ban’s second visit to Burma since Cyclone Nargis devastated much of the country last year.
His first visit managed to persuade the military government to ease access for hundreds of foreign aid workers who had been restricted from entering cyclone-affected areas. He also oversaw a conference that raised up to $150 million in emergency relief funds.
However, the UN has been unable to budge the junta on its refusal to free its estimated 2,100 political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.
Shortly after Ban arrived yesterday, the court presiding over Suu Kyi’s widely criticized trial announced an adjournment until July 10.
The trial had been set to resume after a monthlong delay.
In May, she was charged with violating the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam secretly to her lakeside home in May and stayed for two days. She has pleaded not guilty and faces five years in prison if convicted.
Suu Kyi is being detained at the compound surrounding Insein Prison, where 53-year-old John William Yettaw of Falcon, Mo., the intruder who is charged with trespassing, also is being held.
