"Events of 2001" ...... In January the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Myanmar announced that a confidential dialogue had been taking place since October 2000 between the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD). The dialogue was believed to have continued for most of 2001. However, Aung San Suu Kyi remained under de facto house arrest, although international delegations were permitted to visit her. Some 1,600 political prisoners arrested in previous years remained in prison. Almost 220 people were released. Three people were sentenced to death for drug trafficking. Extrajudicial executions and forced labour continued to be reported in the ethnic minority states, particularly Shan and Kayin states.