AP

Posted: 2007-10-09 10:00:04

YANGON, Myanmar  (AP) – The party of Myanmar’s detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday urged the military junta not to set preconditions for a meeting with her in the wake of a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

The junta leaders have offered to meet with Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, but only on condition she renounce widespread calls for international sanctions against the military regime, which has been widely condemned for breaking up the protests Sept. 26-27.

“The success of a dialogue is based on sincerity and the spirit of give and take,” said the National League for Democracy statement, which was based on past speeches by Suu Kyi. “The will for achieving success is also crucial and there should not be any preconditions.”

The statement, which follows similar ones by NLD figures, came after the junta said it hoped to achieve “smooth relations” with Suu Kyi. On Monday, the regime suggested her release from house arrest was unlikely anytime soon.

Ye Min Tun, a diplomat at Myanmar’s embassy in London, resigned to protest the crackdown, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Tuesday.

While resisting preconditions, the NLD said it strongly favored dialogue.

“The will to meet and negotiate is the key to resolving the country’s dire problems,” said the statement.

The party statement, although its first since Than Shwe’s offer to meet with Suu Kyi, could not be taken as her personal reaction, since the NLD has not had contact with the democracy leader since May 2004.

While many nations have called for sanctions to punish the regime and force it to open up the political process, China – which has a veto on the U.N. Security Council – is arguing against them.

“Sanctions or pressure will not help to solve the issue in Myanmar,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regular news conference in Beijing on Tuesday. He said China was encouraged that the situation in Myanmar was calmer. “We hope this momentum can be maintained,” he said.

U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari suggested creating the Cabinet-level job during his visit to Myanmar last week, the announcement said. It added that the junta had accepted the idea “in respect of Gambari’s recommendation and in view of smooth relations with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.” “Daw” is a polite term for addressing older women.

The printed statement came amid intense international pressure for the junta to enter talks with Myanmar’s democracy movement. The junta did not indicate when Aung Kyi might meet with Suu Kyi.

It appeared, however, that Aung Kyi would coordinate Suu Kyi’s contacts with both the regime and the U.N., which is seeking to end the political deadlock between democracy advocates and a military that has ruled since 1962.

Aung Kyi has a reputation among foreign diplomats, U.N. officials and aid groups as being relatively accessible and reasonable, compared with the top junta leaders.

The military presence has considerably eased in Yangon’s streets in recent days. There were no more barricades, except along the road going to Suu Kyi’s house, which has three layers of barbed wire barricades and sandbagged troops’ positions.

On Tuesday, a few monks could be seen walking along the streets, holding begging bowls. People crowded open-air food stalls in the evening, before the 10 p.m. curfew. Some residents, however, continued to feel uneasy despite the calm, fearing sporadic raids and possible arrests.

The junta came to power after crushing a 1988 pro-democracy uprising by killing as many as 3,000 people. Myanmar’s previous constitution was suspended in 1988. The junta then allowed elections in 1990, but nullified the vote after Suu Kyi’s party won.