UN urges Myanmar rulers, opposition to resume substantive talks

UN urges Myanmar rulers, opposition to resume substantive talks
Posted: 06 February 2009 0811 hrs

UNITED NATIONS (Channel NewsAsia) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon is appealing to Myanmar's military rulers and opposition to resume early, substantive negotiations without preconditions, his spokeswoman said Thursday.

Michele Montas said the secretary general issued the appeal after being briefed in New Delhi by his special adviser Ibrahim Gambari on the outcome of his four-day visit to Myanmar which ended Tuesday.

She added that Ban, who was in the Indian capital on the last leg of a two-week swing through Europe, Africa and Asia, looked forward "to building on the Gambari visit to further foster national dialogue and reconciliation" in Myanmar.

Ban "calls on the government and opposition to resume substantive dialogue without preconditions and without further delay," Montas said.

Gambari left Myanmar Tuesday after a visit aimed at nudging the regime toward dialogue with the democratic opposition, though he failed to secure a meeting with the top junta leadership.

Opposition leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest for most the past 19 years, met Gambari on Monday.

She had refused to see him on his previous visit to Myanmar in August.

Less than a day after Gambari left the country, Myanmar state media accused Aung San Suu Kyi of being unrealistic, leaving little room for the diplomatic manoeuvring the UN envoy is seeking.