Envoy holds formal talks with Suu K

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Subject: Envoy holds formal talks with Suu Kyi

Envoy holds formal talks with Suu Kyi

15 NLD members freed from detention

UN special envoy to Myanmar Alvaro de Soto said he
held formal talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi Thursday, as
thecountry's poor human rights record came under international scrutiny.
Mr.De Soto, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's special envoy to Burma
refused to comment on his discussions with Nobel Peace laureate Aung SanSuu
Kyi at her home amid tight security, which lasted more than one hour.

"I have met with her today. That is all I can confirm," he told AFP
bytelephone from his hotel here, adding that he does not give
interviewswhile in Myanmar.

The two had met informally on Tuesday evening but Thursday's
discussionswere their first formal meeting during de Soto's four-day visit
to assessthe human rights situation.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of national independence hero Aung San,
ledthe National League for Democracy (NLD) party to an easy victory in
1990elections but has never been allowed to form a government.

Riot police manned two checkpoints leading to her home in Yangon and
wereblocking access to all but de Soto and his aides. The normally
tightsecurity at the opposition leader's home has been beefed up for de
Soto'svisit.

Meanwhile 15 NLD members were released from detention Thursday after
whatthe junta described as an "an exchange of views," an official statement
said.

Their release brought the total number of opposition detainees freed
inrecent weeks to 110. Hundreds more who have been detained since May
arestill being kept in government "guesthouses."

Mr. De Soto said he had not met with any of the NLD members in custody.
Thefull details of his four-day visit, ending Friday, are not expected to
bemade public until he returns to New York to brief Annan.

A UN report released Wednesday in New York expressed deep concern
aboutcontinuing human rights violations in Myanmar and the junta's failure
tohold a dialogue with opposition leaders.

The report to the UN General Assembly by special rapporteur Rajsoomer
Lallah of Mauritius said hopes for a dialogue were fading rapidly.

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