By EDITH M. LEDERER,

AP

Posted: 2007-10-31 23:28:24

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari will return to Myanmar on Saturday to promote talks between the government and the opposition and to press for the release of all those detained after September’s crackdown by the country’s military rulers on pro-democracy protestors, the U.N. chief says.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that he will meet Gambari in Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday morning to discuss strategies, and stressed that the U.N. envoy’s upcoming visit “will have to bring substantively different results.”

Ban sent Gambari to Myanmar after the government crackdown on peaceful protesters in late September, and he met earlier this month with junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe. He also met twice with detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Soon after he left, the government appointed retired Maj. Gen. Aung Kyi as liaison minister for talks with Suu Kyi, under a U.N.-brokered attempt by Gambari to nudge her and the military junta toward reconciliation. They met last week, which Gambari welcomed, but he called it “only the first step,” saying it “should lead to early resumption of talks that will lead to tangible results.”

Ban told reporters Wednesday: “Our goal is that he will facilitate this dialogue between the government and opposition leaders, and do more – the democratic measures by the Myanmar government including the release of all detained students and demonstrators, and open up their society as soon as possible.”

Gambari has been on a six-nation Asian tour, discussing the situation in Myanmar and urging support from key countries for national reconciliation and a stepped-up transition to democracy in the military-ruled country.

He will fly to Istanbul to meet Ban on Friday before heading to Myanmar from Nov. 3-8, U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said. Ban will be attending a ministerial meeting on Iraq in Istanbul.

“During his forthcoming visit to Myanmar, Mr. Gambari will follow-up on his offer to facilitate implementation of his recommendations made to the government during his last mission, including immediate steps to address human rights concerns in the wake of the recent crisis.”

He will also be discussing the timeframe for a “meaningful” dialogue between the government and Suu Kyi “as a necessary part of an inclusive national reconciliation process,” she said.

Myanmar’s government has been strongly criticized for sending troops to quash peaceful protests, initially led by students and then by Buddhist monks, in late September. The military junta said 10 people were killed, but diplomats and dissidents say the death toll is likely much higher. Thousands were arrested, and the hunt for participants is reportedly continuing.

During his upcoming trip, Montas said Gambari will also follow-up “on implementation of confidence-building measures including the possibility of establishing a participatory constitutional review mechanism and a broad-based poverty alleviation commission.”

Gambari will consult “the broad range of representatives of Myanmar society, including all the groups which he was not able to see last time,” she said. “He looks forward to the continued cooperation of the Myanmar government in this regard.”