Myanmar's military rulers hold rare meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi

Bangkok, Oct 25 (UNI) Myanmar's military rulers held a rare meeting with detained pro-democracy campaigner and Nobel Peace laureate Aung Suu Kyi today, reports from Yangon said.

Ms Suu Kyi who has spent 12 of the past 18 years under house arrest in Yangon was taken to an official guest house in the city for a meeting with a minister in the military government.

Yesterday marked the 12th year Ms Suu Kyi has spent in incarceration since her party won a landslide in the 1990 parliament election but was not allowed to assume office by the military.

Political observers in the region noted that the military regime has agreed to the rare consultation with Ms Suu Kyi due to growing international pressure following last month's military crackdown on monks leading anti-government protests in Yangon.

The UN special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari who met Myanmar's military rulers and Ms Suu Kyi recently, is scheduled to return to the country next month after a six-nation preparatory diplomatic consultation that took him to key Asian capitals .

Myanmar watchers have noted a shift in stance in both New Delhi and Beijing, said to have the greatest influence on the rulers of Naypyitaw, in the wake of US sanctions against Myanmar's military rulers and stepped up UN diplomacy to facilitate political reconciliation in the Southeast Asian country.

UNI