Razaly's trip postponed due to coup attempt<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Yangon<\/p>\n
Myanmar's military regime admitted on Tuesday they asked United
\nNations special envoy Razali Ismail to postpone his planned visit
\nto Yangon this week because of a recent coup attempt.<\/p>\n
"The Myanmar authorities concerned are quite preoccupied with
\nissues that need immediate attention after the recent coup
\nattempt," a government spokesman said.<\/p>\n
"The UN envoy Mr. Razali Ismail has been informed and kindly
\nrequested to postpone his visit to Myanmar at a date convenient
\nto both sides in the near future," he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The military government announced on March 7 that it had
\nscuttled a coup plot mounted by the family of former dictator Ne
\nWin who ruled the country until 1988.<\/p>\n
The son-in-law and three grandsons of the 92-year-old autocrat
\nwere arrested while Ne Win and his daughter Sandar Win remain
\nunder heavy guard at their lakeside residence in Yangon.<\/p>\n
A three-day mission by a four-member European Union delegation
\nwas allowed to go ahead last week, but on Monday the UN said
\nRazali's trip due to start on Tuesday had "been postponed due to
\nillness of the deputy foreign minister".<\/p>\n
Sources in Yangon said deputy foreign minister Khin Maung Win
\nwas supposed to host Razali in what would have been his seventh
\nvisit to the country since his appointment in April 2000.<\/p>\n
"We are disappointed to hear of this development, but we hope
\nthat the mission can be rescheduled as soon as possible in order
\nto facilitate the national reconciliation process," said UN
\nspokeswoman Marie Okabe on Monday.<\/p>\n
During the trip, Razali had been expected to try to revitalize
\nlong-running national reconciliation talks between the junta and
\nthe opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel
\nPeace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
He was scheduled to meet Myanmar's leader Senior General Than
\nShwe and intelligence chief Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt as well
\nas various other government officials and NLD leaders, including
\nAung San Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
Khin Nyunt failed to meet the European Union (EU) delegation
\nthat visited Myanmar last week, although such a meeting had been
\non their three-day schedule. No reason was given for his
\ncancellation.<\/p>\n
EU team leader Rafel Conde said he discussed the coup
\naftermath with other junta leaders who said "the matter was well
\nin control and it would have no impact on the ongoing process of
\nnational reconciliation."<\/p>\n
In an apparent gesture of goodwill, the government released
\nbatches of prisoners on all three days of the EU delegation's
\nvisit, including five members of Suu Kyi's pro-democracy NLD.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday it released another 23 female prisoners, all either
\npregnant or with young children, "on humanitarian grounds",
\nbringing to 295 the number of women released from jail since the
\nend of last month.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/razalys-trip-postponed-due-to-coup-attempt-1447893297",
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