Burmese Party Leader: Suu Kyi Expects Meeting With US Officials

A lawyer for Burma's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says she has been informed of the upcoming visit of two senior U.S. officials and is preparing to meet them.

The U.S. State Department said Friday that Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel, will visit Burma for two days next week (November 3 and 4). Spokesman Robert Wood says the two will meet with members of the government as well as the opposition, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

Her lawyer, Nyan Win, who also is a spokesman for the opposition National League for Democracy, told reporters Saturday that the U.S. embassy in Rangoon is making arrangements with the party for the meeting.

The United States and the United Nations are pressing Burma to release all political prisoners so they can participate in next year's election. But rights groups say Burmese authorities have arrested more opponents of the regime in just the past two weeks, including about 10 local journalists.

Burma is still holding hundreds of political prisoners. Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the past 20 years under some form of detention. Her house arrest was extended by an additional 18 months in August for allowing an uninvited American man to stay at her home without official permission.

U.S. Senator Jim Webb held a landmark meeting with Burma's military leader Than Shwe in August. He also was permitted to visit with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Critics have said high-level U.S. visits from other countries give legitimacy to the military regime that jails opponents. Aung San Suu Kyi has recently backed direct dialogue with the military government.


Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.