New York, 16 July 2003
My Special Envoy for Myanmar, Tan Sri Razali Ismail, and I met this afternoon with U Khin Maung Win, Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Envoy of the Union of Myanmar.
During the meeting, I
expressed my grave concern about the safety and well being of Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi and other leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD), who have been
held incommunicado since the incident of 30 May.
I emphasized that they
should be released without further delay and that it was the responsibility of
the Myanmar Government to ensure the safety of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD
colleagues, in or out of detention.
I remain convinced that the
only way to build durable peace in Myanmar is to release the detainees, ensure
their political freedoms, and begin substantive dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi immediately. To that end, I requested that the Government take the
initiative and meet with her.
The Special Envoy promised me that he would convey these messages to Senior General Than Shwe, the Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council and Prime Minister of the Union of Myanmar.
------