Suu Kyi makes front page in Myanmar

Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi received rare front-page coverage Saturday as the ruling junta seemed eager to publicise her meeting with a government official.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar ran a photograph of the Nobel peace laureate shaking hands with Labour Minister Aung Kyi, whom the generals appointed to deal with her following international outrage at their deadly crackdown on anti-government protests in September.

Both were pictured wearing longyis, a traditional sarong-like garment. In recent years, Myanmar's media has rarely run photographs of the democracy leader, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years.

"While putting energy into the democratisation process, the government has been making efforts for the national reconsolidation," the brief accompanying report said.

It said their meeting Friday in a government guesthouse was "part of efforts for transition to democracy by implementing the seven-step road map," referring to the junta's own tortuously slow-moving so-called "road map" to democracy, which has so far excluded the opposition.

The state-controlled English language paper also mentioned Aung San Suu Kyi's hour-long meeting with members of her National League for Democracy, the first time she has been allowed to meet with members of her party since 2004.

Aung San Suu Kyi was optimistic after meeting with Aung Kyi and believed it was time for the "healing process" to start, her party said.

UN human rights expert Paulo Sergio Pinheiro is due Sunday to start his first visit to Myanmar in four years amid the apparent signs of progress on establishing dialogue between the junta and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Yangon, Sunday, AFP