US Pleased Burmese Official Meeting With Opposition Leader
By VOA News
21 October 2009
A U.S. official says the United States is pleased Burma's labor minister has met with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi twice in recent weeks, and that foreign diplomats have also met with her.
However, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell says Aung San Suu Kyi must also be allowed to meet with members of her own political party, and that dialogue with the government should continue.
He says the United States continues to call for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners in Burma.
Campbell made his remarks Wednesday to a U.S. congressional committee - the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
He said U.S. officials plan to go to Burma in the next few weeks to speak with representatives of the country's military-led government and pro-democracy activists, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been under some form of detention for 14 of the last 20 years. She was sentenced in August to an extra 18 months of house arrest for allowing an uninvited American man to stay at her home without official permission.
The international community has denounced Aung San Suu Kyi's conviction, accusing the military of using it as an excuse to prevent her from participating in next year's elections.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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