UN envoy arrives in Myanmar to push for release of opposition leader News
UN envoy arrives in Myanmar to push for release of opposition leader

[JURIST] Ali Alatas, former Indonesian foreign minister, went to Myanmar Thursday as a special envoy of the UN to help push for the release of jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi [advocacy website; Wikipedia profile]. Alatas was appointed to the position in 2003, but this is his first visit to the country. Myanmar's military leaders have not allowed such a visit from any special envoy since March 2004. National League for Democracy leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since May 2003, despite international pressure for her release. Last month Myanmar turned down the rotating Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) [official website] chairmanship in response to US and EU boycott threats [JURIST report] about its human rights record. AFP has more.