Emerging from a meeting with a senior government minister on Friday afternoon, Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed today's surprise announcement by President Thein Sein that he had suspended the controversial Myitsone dam project in Kachin State.
Suu Kyi met with Aung Kyi, the minister of labor and minister of social welfare, relief and resettlement, for about one hour today at the Sane Lae Kan Thar state guesthouse in Rangoon. Among the issues discussed were an amnesty for political prisoners, cooperation on efforts to conserve the Irrawaddy River, and ways to achieve peace with Burma's ethnic armed groups.
“I've heard that the president sent a message about the suspension of the Myitsone project on the Irrawaddy River in response to the public’s concerns. It’s very good that the government listens to the voice of the people, as that is what they should do,” Suu Kyi said to reporters after the meeting.
Aung Kyi, a retired major general, told the reporters that both sides agreed to meet again to hold further discussions on the major issues raised in today's meeting. He also said that cooperation would increase after Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, registered as a legal political organization.
When reporters asked Suu Kyi about Burma's next elections, to be held in 2015, she said, “We accept that elections are a part of democracy, but we will have to wait and see what form they take.”
Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi previously met twice this year, once in July and again in August. Suu Kyi also met with Thein Sein for the first time in August. In statements issued after each meeting, both sides said they were satisfied with the discussions that took place.
While observers have generally welcomed the recent contact between the government and the iconic opposition leader, many still suspect that Naypyidaw's main aim is to ease international pressure and win approval of its bid to become chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014, rather than to achieve national reconciliation.
On Tuesday, Burma’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin addressed the issue of political prisoners at the 66th session of the UN General Assembly, saying that an early amnesty program is being considered. He also called for the lifting of Western sanctions on Burma.
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