UN's Gambari to return to Asia, Myanmar

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 11 (Reuters) UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari will set off at the weekend for an Asian tour expected to culminate in his second visit to Myanmar since pro-democracy demonstrations erupted there, the United Nations said today.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has decided to dispatch Gambari to Thailand, where he will hold talks on Monday, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China and Japan ''with a view to returning to Myanmar shortly thereafter,'' a UN statement said.

Gambari, who returned from a four-day visit to Myanmar last week, had originally planned to make a second visit in mid-November, but that has now been brought forward. Western diplomats said they hoped Gambari would be in Myanmar by the end of October.

Reuters SYU GC2234