Myanmar: Annan's envoy urges release of democracy leader
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Envoy for Myanmar has urged its government to release detained democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other officials of her party, a UN spokesman said today.
The spokesman said the envoy, Razali Ismail, had found Daw Aung San Suu Kyi "well and in good spirits, recovering at her home" from recent surgery.
In a just-concluded three-day visit - the eleventh undertaken for the Secretary-General -Mr. Razali met with several government leaders, including Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt and Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as well as representatives of ethnic nationality groups, spokesman Fred Eckhard said at a news briefing.
During Mr. Razali's discussions on the roadmap announced by the Prime Minister on 30 August, the Special Envoy stressed the need for the Government to begin by taking timely steps to include all parties in the various preparatory processes leading to the National Convention, the spokesman said.
Mr. Razali also "urged the Government to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD (National League for Democracy) leaders as soon as possible, and that they be allowed to participate in the preparatory process," Mr. Eckhard said. "The Special Envoy hopes that an understanding will emerge between the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi shortly so that their dialogue on the country's democratic transition may resume."
Mr. Annan has called for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's release ever since her detention on 30 May.