Yangon, June 09: UN envoy Razali Ismail said today he was hopeful of being allowed to see detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi after an "encouraging" meeting with two of Myanmar's most powerful generals. Razali had been poised to cut short his mission to Myanmar if he was refused permission to see the Nobel peace laureate who was taken into custody more than week ago after violent clashes between her supporters and a pro-Junta mob.
But he said after talks with army chief Deputy Senior General Maung Aye and military intelligence boss General Khin Nyunt that he was making progress in his twin goals of securing a meeting and pushing for her release.
"I am encouraged by my meeting today," he told reporters. "I am hoping I'll be able to fulfil one or two of the objectives of my visit."
"I'm not leaving today," he added, settling speculation that the visit which began Friday and was due to end tomorrow may be cut short in protest.
The meeting with the two generals, which took place at the heavily guarded Zeyar Thiri Beik man military headquarters in Yangon, lasted only 10 minutes, a source close to the regime told.
Junta leader senior General Than Shwe is on a trip outside the capital and is not expected to see Razali, who brokered landmark contacts between the regime and the opposition leader in October 2000.
The government's reluctance to allow Razali to see Aung San Suu Kyi is viewed with grave concern, in light of eyewitness reports that she was injured in the head and shoulder in the May 30 violence. Bureau Report