By EDITH M. LEDERER,

AP

Posted: 2007-10-23 12:56:36

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – Myanmar ’s military rulers have agreed to a return visit by U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari in the first week of November rather than mid-November, the U.N. announced Tuesday.

The U.N. Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have been pressing the Myanmar government to move up Gambari’s return trip so he can try to promote efforts at national reconciliation and moves toward democracy.

Ban sent Gambari to Myanmar after the government sent troops to quash peaceful protests, initially led by students and then by Buddhist monks, in late September. He met with junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe, as well as twice with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but he has so far failed to bring about a dialogue between the two sides.

Gambari is on a six-nation tour of key Asian nations, discussing the situation in Myanmar and urging support from key nations.

U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas announced Tuesday that Gambari “expects to visit Myanmar in the first week of November as the Myanmar government agreed to bring forward his standing invitation to the country.”

“While the exact travel dates have yet to be arranged, Mr. Gambari will be going to the country directly from the region,” she said.

Gambari has already visited Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and he flew from New Delhi to Beijing on Tuesday. His final stop will be Japan, Montas said.

“Mr. Gambari has been urging India and other regional countries to actively encourage the government of Myanmar to continue to cooperate with the secretary-general’s good offices efforts, including by addressing continuing human rights concerns and by encouraging Myanmar to receive Mr. Gambari as early as possible in order to kick-start a dialogue with the opposition,” she said.

Gambari held “detailed and substantive discussions” Tuesday with India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior officials, Montas said.

The U.N. announced Monday that Myanmar’s government has agreed to a visit by the U.N.’s human rights investigator, who has been barred from entering the military-ruled country since 2003.

In a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win suggested that Paulo Sergio Pinheiro’s visit take place before the Nov. 17 summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Montas said.

The U.N. Human Rights Council condemned Myanmar’s crackdown on demonstrators at an emergency session on Oct. 2 and urged an immediate investigation of the rights situation in the country.

Pinheiro is scheduled to visit U.N. headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

The Human Rights Council’s resolution strongly deploring “continued violent repression of peaceful demonstrators in Myanmar, including through beatings, killings, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances” was its first criticizing a government other than Israel since the council replaced the discredited Human Rights Commission last year.

The council, which lacks enforcement powers, is limited to focusing global attention on human rights offenders.