AP : 26th June 2009

YANGON, Myanmar – A U.N. special envoy was in Myanmar on Friday to pave the way for a possible visit by the U.N. secretary-general that would be politically delicate because of the continuing trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Human Rights Watch and some governments have urged U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon not to visit now, arguing the trip could be exploited by the military government. The Nobel Peace laureate is in prison and being tried on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest after an uninvited American man swam to her closely guarded lakeside home last month and stayed two days.

But Suu Kyi’s own party supports such a visit, and other countries say the alternative is to do nothing and miss an opportunity to have the U.N. chief press for Suu Kyi’s release and push for more open and inclusive elections next year.

Details of the visit of Ibrahim Gambari, who arrived Friday, have not been disclosed by the U.N., but some officials in Myanmar’s diplomatic community spoke openly about it.

“My understanding is that Dr. Gambari is here to assess the conditions for a potential visit by the secretary-general,” said British Ambassador Mark Canning.

Ban’s “commitment to achieving progress is well known,” Canning told The Associated Press. “The issue — as always — is the degree of cooperation he can expect to receive.”

After arriving in Yangon, the commercial capital, Gambari was driven in a motorcade for a four-hour trip to the capital of Naypyitaw to meet government officials, an official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information to the press.

It is Gambari’s eighth visit since 2006 when he was appointed the U.N. chief’s special representative to promote political reconciliation here. The envoy has met with both junta leaders and Suu Kyi but failed to nudge the military regime toward talks with the pro-democracy movement.

U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said Thursday in New York that Gambari will report to the secretary-general on his Myanmar visit before Ban leaves for a trip to Japan on Monday.

Ban told AP earlier this week that he was looking at the “appropriate timing” for a visit.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party said it hoped the visiting U.N. envoy will meet the opposition party as he has on previous visits, and that Ban would also make a trip to Myanmar.

“We always support and welcome visits by the U.N. secretary-general as well as any U.N. envoy. We also hope that the U.N. might be able to carry out their … mission more efficiently and effectively,” spokesman Nyan Win said without elaborating.

Ban’s visit to Myanmar after last year’s devastating Cyclone Nargis was hailed as instrumental in getting the isolated government to admit more foreign relief workers.

Another awkward factor in the timing of a visit by the U.N. chief could be the possible delivery to Myanmar of weapons aboard a ship from North Korea, in defiance of U.N. sanctions. Although neither North Korean nor Myanmar authorities have confirmed such activity, U.S. and South Korean officials suspect that the Kang Nam 1 is transporting weapons to Myanmar’s military, and its arrival could coincide with Ban’s visit.

The U.N. has called repeatedly for political reconciliation in Myanmar, including the release of Suu Kyi. The country has been under military rule since 1962, and the junta refused to recognize the results of 1990 general elections won by Suu Kyi’s party.

Suu Kyi’s trial has drawn outrage from the international community and from her local supporters, who say the military government is using the incident as an excuse to keep her detained through the 2010 elections.

The trial has been delayed to allow appeals by Suu Kyi’s lawyers to reinstate two key witnesses. The country’s highest court will deliver its ruling on the appeal Monday, said a court official on condition of anonymity because the date had not yet been made public.

The District Court presiding over the trial at Myanmar’s Insein Prison, where Suu Kyi is being held, told lawyers Friday the trial would resume July 3, said defense attorney Nyan Win — a different person to the man of the same name who speaks for Suu Kyi’s political party.