Aung San Suu Kyi in rare press appearance

by Mungpi
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 15:03

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met visiting US diplomats for over an hour and also made a rare appearance for the press for a photo shoot at the Innya Lake Hotel.

“We were able to take photographs of Daw Suu as she arrived at the hotel, for the meeting,” a local journalist in Rangoon said.

The meeting, which began at midday, was organized by the US embassy in Rangoon. On Tuesday, the embassy informed Mizzima that journalists would be allowed to take photographs of Aung San Suu Kyi and the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell and Deputy Scot Marciel.

The Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate, who in August was sentenced to yet another 18 months of house arrest, has rarely been allowed to appear before the press.

“She looks fine but she did not speak to the press. We all took her pictures. The atmosphere seemed to be quite relaxed,” the journalist told Mizzima.

Details of the meeting are still not known.

Meanwhile, the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, said they are waiting for the US diplomats to visit them at their office. And expect to start the meeting by 2:30 p.m. (local time).

Similarly, the spokesperson of the National Unity Party (NUP), a political party backed by former military dictator General Ne Win, also said they have been informed that the US diplomats would be visiting their office to hold a meeting later on Wednesday.

Han Shwe, a central committee member of the NUP told Mizzima that five central committee members will meet the US diplomats but declined to give details of the agenda that they would like to take up during the meeting.

Campbell and Scot on Wednesday morning met Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein at the new jungle capital of Naypyitaw, where they spent the night. They also met several other junta officials on Tuesday.

The visiting US officials are scheduled to brief the press at Rangoon international airport in the evening before wrapping up their two-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation.