Opposition welcomes UN envoy’s arrival in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar’s opposition welcomed the arrival Friday of a U.N. special envoy whose visit to the military-ruled country comes during the trial of their leader, pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Nobel Peace laureate is in prison and being tried on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest after an uninvited American man swam to her closely guarded lakeside home last month and stayed two days.

Details of the visit by envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who arrived Friday, have not been disclosed by the U.N., but some officials in Myanmar’s diplomatic community spoke openly about it.

“My understanding is that Dr. Gambari is here to assess the conditions for a potential visit by the secretary-general,” said British Ambassador Mark Canning.

Human Rights Watch and some governments have urged U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon not to visit now, arguing the trip could be exploited by the military government, which might portray it as an endorsement of the legitimacy of Suu Kyi’s trial.

But Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party supports the trip, and other countries say the alternative is to do nothing and miss an opportunity to have the U.N. chief press for Suu Kyi’s release and push for more open and inclusive elections next year.

Suu Kyi’s party said it hoped the visiting U.N. envoy will meet the opposition party as he has on previous visits.

“We always support and welcome visits by the U.N. secretary-general as well as any U.N. envoy. We also hope that the U.N. might be able to carry out their … mission more efficiently and effectively,” party spokesman Nyan Win said without elaborating.

It was unclear Friday whether Gambari would visit Suu Kyi.

After arriving in Yangon, the commercial capital, Gambari was driven in a motorcade for a four-hour trip to the capital of Naypyitaw to meet government officials, an official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information to the press.

It was Gambari’s eighth visit since 2006 when he was appointed the U.N. chief’s special representative to promote political reconciliation here. The envoy has met with both junta leaders and Suu Kyi but failed to nudge the military regime toward talks with the pro-democracy movement.

U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said Thursday in New York that Gambari will report to the secretary-general on his Myanmar visit before Ban leaves for a trip to Japan on Monday.

The U.N. has called repeatedly for political reconciliation in Myanmar, including the release of Suu Kyi. The country has been under military rule since 1962, and the junta refused to recognize the results of 1990 general elections won by Suu Kyi’s party.

Suu Kyi’s trial has drawn outrage from the international community and from her local supporters, who say the military government is using the incident as an excuse to keep her detained through the 2010 elections.

The trial has been delayed to allow appeals by Suu Kyi’s lawyers to reinstate two key witnesses.

The District Court presiding over the trial at Myanmar’s Insein Prison, where Suu Kyi is being held, told lawyers Friday the trial would resume July 3, said Nyan Win, who is a defense lawyer for Suu Kyi as well as a spokesman for her party.