U.N. special envoy Gambari to visit Myanmar on Friday

U.N. special envoy Gambari to visit Myanmar on Friday
Thu Jun 25, 2009 6:21pm IST
By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - A U.N. special envoy to Myanmar will fly to the army-ruled country on Friday, a Foreign Ministry official said, a visit aimed at laying the groundwork for a possible visit by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The trip will be Ibrahim Gambari's eighth to Myanmar and he is expected to arrive as the widely-condemned trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi resumes in Yangon.

"He is due to arrive here on Friday morning and as far as I know, he is scheduled to stay here only for two nights," the Myanmar Foreign Ministry official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters on Thursday.

An Asian diplomat based in Yangon said the likely purpose of Gambari's brief trip would be to discuss a visit by Ban next month.

The U.N. chief has previously said he hoped to press the junta to release Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and persuade the regime to commit to meaningful democratic reforms.

Myanmar and U.N. officials said they did not know Gambari's itinerary.

Gambari last visited the country in February this year, when he met Suu Kyi and Prime Minister Thein Sein.

Suu Kyi's trial is expected to be adjourned on Friday until a ruling is made on whether to overturn bans on two of the Nobel laureate's defence witnesses.

The National League for Democracy Party leader is charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest by allowing an American intruder, John Yettaw, to stay at her home for two days.

Suu Kyi, who turned 64 last week, has been held since early May at a guesthouse inside the compound of Yangon's notorious Insein prison, where she is on trial and faces up to five years in jail if found guilty.

She is charged under Section 22 of a draconian law protecting the state from "subversive elements", but her lawyers say the charges should be dropped because the legislation is outdated.

Yettaw and two of Suu Kyi's housemaids are also charged under the same law.

Western diplomats at the United Nations last week said the junta had invited Ban to Myanmar.

The diplomats, speaking under the condition of anonymity, said Ban was concerned the regime would use the visit for propaganda purposes to try to legitimise Suu Kyi's trial.