Suu Kyi's NLD hopeful over talks with junta

Suu Kyi's NLD hopeful over talks with junta

YANGON (Reuters): Myanmar's opposition National League for
Democracy (NLD) expressed optimism on Monday over talks with the
ruling military as United Nations special envoy Razali Ismail
began a four-day visit to mediate the dialog.

The UN envoy's arrival came on the heels of the release from
de facto house arrest of two top NLD leaders -- Chairman Aung
Shwe, 83, and Vice-Chairman Tin Oo, 75 -- who late on Sunday met
party leader Aung San Suu Kyi for the first time since a renewed
crackdown by the military in September last year.

"I am more optimistic about the talks (with the military). I
feel we are gaining more understanding," Tin Oo told Reuters.

"The release of political prisoners is rather slow. Aung San
Suu Kyi also feels like this and we are all looking forward to
seeing Mr Razali."

Other party members also said they were optimistic about a
fresh round of shuttle negotiations with the ruling military.

"We are very happy about the release (of Tin Oo and Aung
Shwe). It sure will improve our optimism about the success of the
talks," said an NLD official recently freed from detention by the
ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

"There are some more political prisoners, including our leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, who should be released," he said.

Razali, who last visited in June, arrived on a flight from
Singapore. He met Foreign Minister Win Aung soon after, but made
no public comment.

A UN official said Razali would stay four days.

"Mr Razali will visit Yangon from today until Aug. 30 to help
facilitate the talks between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi
for democratization and reconciliation in Myanmar," he said.

"During his visit Mr Razali is expected to meet with Senior
General Than Shwe, prime minister and chairman of the SPDC, and
other government figures," he said.

"He is also expected to meet with senior members of the NLD."

No details

NLD Secretary U Lwin, a member of the party's Central
Executive Committee, told Reuters the UN diplomat was expected to
meet Suu Kyi, as well as Aung Shwe, Tin Oo and himself.

"We are looking forward to meeting him (Razali), but we have
no details of the meeting yet," he said.

U Lwin said he had accompanied Tin Oo and Aung Shwe to the
meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi at her lakeside residence in
central Yangon late on Sunday.

"They talked about the running of the party," he said.

The NLD's executive committee issued a statement later on
Monday confirming the four-hour party meeting and reaffirming its
unity and commitment to the struggle for democracy.

"U Aung Shwe and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will continue to make
efforts unitedly for the emergence of democracy," it said.

Suu Kyi and Aung Shwe have been confined to their Yangon homes
since September, when the government cracked down on the NLD
following attempts by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate to travel
outside the capital.

Tin Oo was detained by the government after the crackdown and
put under de facto house arrest.

Western diplomats in Yangon said the lifting of restrictions
on Tin Oo and Aung Shwe appeared intended as a goodwill gesture
from the government ahead of Razali's visit.

The military has been holding secretive talks since October
with Suu Kyi. The start of dialog was welcomed by foreign
countries, many of which regard Myanmar as a pariah state.

But no clear signs of progress have emerged from the talks,
and there has been speculation that they have hit an impasse.
Despite some concessions by the military, a government official
told Reuters on Sunday that restrictions on Suu Kyi's freedom of
movement would remain.

"The situation of Aung San Suu Kyi will remain the same for
the time being," the official said.

The SPDC has so far released more than 150 NLD members and
allowed the party to re-open some of its offices. But human
rights group Amnesty International says there are still more than
1,500 political prisoners in Myanmar.

The NLD won the country's last general election in 1990 by a
landslide but has never been allowed to govern. Razali has played
a key role in brokering talks between the government and Suu Kyi.

His visit beginning on Monday will be his fifth since he took
on the role of mediator last year.

At the conclusion of his last visit he expressed "cautious
optimism" over the talks between the military, which has run the
country since grabbing power in a 1962 coup, and the pro-
democracy opposition.