YANGON, Myanmar - A U.N. envoy held back-to-back meetings Sunday with Myanmar's military rulers and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as he sought a peaceful solution to the government's crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
The separate talks occurred as thousands of troops locked down Myanmar's largest cities Sunday. Scores of people were arrested overnight, further weakening an uprising to end 45 years of military dictatorship.
Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N.'s special envoy to Myanmar, went to the remote bunker-like capital Naypyitaw on Saturday to meet with the junta and stayed overnight, diplomats said.
On Sunday, he returned to Yangon and was whisked to the State Guest House to meet Suu Kyi, who was brought out of house arrest to see the U.N. envoy.
The meeting lasted about 90 minutes, said the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. Details of the meeting were not immediately known.
The flurry of diplomatic efforts came after the military government launched a bloody crackdown last week on demonstrations that began Aug. 19 to protest a sharp increase in fuel prices.
The protests grew in size dramatically after thousands of Buddhist monks joined people in venting anger at decades of brutal military rule.
At the height of the protests, some 70,000 people turned out.
The junta, which has a long history of snuffing out dissent, cracked down Wednesday and Thursday, opening fire into a crowd of peaceful protesters and chasing others down with batons. Though the official death toll is 10, foreign diplomats and dissident groups say the number is likely much higher.
No comments:
Post a Comment