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Annan welcomes release of 5 parliamentarians in Myanmar

Annan welcomes release of 5 parliamentarians in Myanmar

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the release in Myanmar of five more Parliament Members from the National League for Democracy (NLD).

A spokesman for the Secretary-General said in a statement that Mr. Annan hoped that the release of the five MPs on Thursday would provide a new impetus to the ongoing talks between the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for democratization and national reconciliation in the country.

The spokesman said that Mr. Annan was encouraged by a series of recent developments -- including the release last week of a dozen political prisoners and the opening of some NLD offices in Yangon -- that had unfolded since the visit to the country of the Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Razali Ismail, in early June.

"[The Secretary-General] calls on the two sides to build on this momentum to achieve further progress in their dialogue process," the spokesman said.