US Senator Holds Surprise Meeting with Myanmar Leader

Jim Webb is the most senior US official to meet the Myanmar leader, the Democratic senator's office said in a statement. Photo by laprogressive.com

US Senator Jim Webb has held talks with Myanmar military ruler Than Shwe, Myanmar officials say.

He is the most senior US official to meet the Myanmar leader, the Democratic senator's office said in a statement.

Later witnesses said Senator Webb visited pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, days after she was placed under house arrest for 18 more months.

Responding to her conviction, the UN Security Council expressed "serious concern" and the EU extended sanctions.

It is not clear whether Webb will meet American John Yettaw, whose uninvited visit to Suu Kyi's home led to the trial which ended on Tuesday and led to him receiving a 7 year jail sentence.

Suu Kyi was put on trial in May after Yettaw swam to her lakeside home, evading guards. She was charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest by sheltering Yettaw and after many delays, was sentenced on Tuesday to three years in prison.

Although the sentence was commuted to 18 months house arrest by Than Shwe, it ensures the opposition leader cannot take part in planned elections next year.

Suu Kyi, 64, has spent 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest.

 

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