U.N. envoy returns to Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- A U.N. diplomat sought to coax democratic reforms out of Myanmar's military rulers Thursday in his third trip to the country since a deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters last year sparked global outcry.

Ibrahim Gambari's latest visit comes amid growing concerns that the ruling junta is ignoring the world's demands and tightening its grip on power.

Gambari said recently said he was "frustrated" at the lack of tangible results from his visits to Myanmar, where he has so far failed to kick-start reconciliation talks between junta leaders and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate.

Details of his itinerary remained a question mark, the United Nations said.

Gambari "hopes to stay as long as necessary" in Myanmar and to meet with "all the groups he was not able to see during his last visit," the U.N. said in a statement ahead of the visit. It added that his itinerary was still under discussion with the junta.

The U.N. envoy was shunned by Myanmar's leader, Sen. Gen. Than Shwe, when he last visited in November. The junta also rejected his proposal of a three-way meeting with Suu Kyi, though Gambari did meet privately with her.

Prior to his trip he toured Asian countries last month -- his latest mission to push Myanmar's neighbors to urge the junta to restore democracy and engage in reconciliation talks with the opposition. Gambari met leaders in China, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan.

Gambari's latest visit follows the junta's surprise announcement last month that it will hold a May referendum on a draft constitution and will hold general elections in 2010 -- the first specific dates for its so-called "roadmap to democracy."

But critics have widely dismissed the roadmap as a sham designed to perpetuate military rule.

The constitutional drafting process did not include members of Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy or representatives of several large minority ethnic groups.

Guidelines used to write the draft constitution effectively bar Suu Kyi from holding national office because she was married to a foreigner -- her late British husband, Michael Aris.

The draft constitution was completed earlier this month but has not yet been made public, prompting concerns that voters will not have enough time to study the draft before voting on it.

Suu Kyi's party won the last general elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take power. Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962.

Hopes were high when Gambari first visited after the September crackdown. He persuaded the junta to let him talk with Suu Kyi and to allow her to meet with fellow executives of her party for the first time in more than three years.

The junta also appointed a ministerial-level official to coordinate with Suu Kyi and issued a statement saying Than Shwe would be willing to meet her, subject to a variety of conditions. Such a meeting never materialized.

"Everybody hoped that there was genuine will on the part of Than Shwe and his senior generals to begin a real dialogue, and what is increasingly evident is that they have no intention whatsoever in engaging in a genuine dialogue," Shari Villarosa, the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar, told The Associated Press last month.

Hopes were also fading among minority ethnic groups within the country.

"It's unclear exactly what Gambari's visit can accomplish," said Lao Hseng, a Shan ethnic rebel spokesman.

Myanmar's junta has been strongly criticized for sending troops to quash peaceful demonstrations in late September, initially led by students and then by Buddhist monks, protesting a fuel price hike.

The government said 10 people were killed, but diplomats and dissidents say the death toll was much higher. Thousands of monks and civilians were arrested. E-mail to a friend

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