Thailand "disappointed" with Myanmar on Suu Kyi

BANGKOK, Aug 3 (Reuters) Thailand said today it was disappointed at military-ruled Myanmar's refusal to put a timeframe on the release of detained democracy icon and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

''Our position is clear. We would like to see them move quickly in the process of national reconciliation and democracy,'' Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon told Reuters after a surprise one-day trip to see Myanmar junta supremo, Than Shwe.

''They are in the process of consideration, but no concrete timeframe,'' he said. ''It is disappointing.'' Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party won a 1990 election landslide only to be denied power by the army, has been in jail or under house arrest for more than 10 of the last 17 years.

Her latest period of detention is now more than three years long.

Kantathi accompanied Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on yesterday's sudden trip to the junta's new jungle capital at Naypyitaw, near Pyinmana, the first foreign leader to visit there.

He was accompanied by army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin, as well as the agriculture and environment ministers, stoking speculation about possible hidden agendas for the trip.

Thaksin said the visit involved ''multilateral and bilateral issues'', but declined to elaborate.

However, Kantathi said the two sides also discussed bird flu, illegal Myanmar workers in Thailand and the narcotics industry on the Myanmar side of the border.

Thailand is one of the former Burma's biggest foreign investors and trading partners, particularly in telecommunications and energy.

In line with its colleagues in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Thailand has preferred a policy of ''constructive engagement'' with Yangon's recalcitrant generals over the sanctions and isolation favoured by Europe and the United States.

REUTERS SP BS0945