Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed hope Monday that talks between Myanmar's military government and the pro-democracy movement will lead to national reconciliation and democracy, stressing that a return to the status quo before September's protests «is not sustainable.» Ban plans talks Monday with his special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, who returned to New York over the weekend from a six-day mission to Myanmar to try to promote talks between the junta and pro-democracy leaders led by detained Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he met for the third time since September's unrest, according to AP. Gambari was also expected to brief the General Assembly president late Monday and the Security Council on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday on his trip. Gambari read a statement from Suu Kyi after he left Myanmar in which she offered to cooperate with the government to pursue national reconciliation, and the junta agreed to let her meet with executives of her party for the first time in more than three years. «As a result of this visit, a process has been launched that will hopefully lead to a meaningful and substantive dialogue with concrete outcomes within an agreed timeframe,» said U.N. associate spokeswoman Marie Okabe. «The secretary-general welcomes the willingness expressed by both sides to work with the United Nations to this end,» she said. «The secretary-general reiterates that the return to the status quo that existed before the crisis is not sustainable and he encourages the government and all relevant parties to redouble their efforts towards achieving national reconciliation, democracy and full respect for human rights,» Okabe said. Gambari was sent to Myanmar by Ban with a mandate to promote political reconciliation after the Security Council condemned the junta's violent crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in September. The apparent progress toward talks came after skepticism that Gambari would be able to accomplish much. He failed to be received by junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe, and the junta rejected his proposal of a three-way meeting involving Suu Kyi, a junta member and himself. On the eve of his visit, the junta announced that it planned to expel the main U.N. representative in the country for issuing a statement critical of the government. Suu Kyi has been detained since May 2003, and has not seen fellow executives of her National League for Democracy since May 2004. The 1991 Nobel peace laureate has spent 12 of the last 18 years in government custody. Gambari has been invited to return to Myanmar and Okabe said the secretary-general looks forward to his early return «as part of an open and regular process of mutual engagement.» Gambari said he has been invited to Singapore next week to address a meeting of Asian leaders, and plans to attend.
