UN rights envoy visits Myanmar regional police, court officials ( AFP ) October 24, 2002


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UN rights envoy visits Myanmar regional police, court officials

YANGON, Oct 24 (AFP)

UN human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro visited officials at a regional police station and law court Thursday as part of his ongoing fact-finding mission to Myanmar, according to an official source.

Pinheiro, who arrived in Yangon last Thursday to assess the overall human rights situation, is currently on a three-day visit from the capital to Karen and Mon states in the southeast of the country.

On Wednesday he met with Christian and Buddhist leaders in Karen state's Kyar-inn-seikkyi, and travelled to Tha-ma-nya-sayadaw, where he called on a highly-revered Buddhist monk of the same name.

Pinheiro held talks with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday, after which he said prospects for a long-running dialogue on national reconciliation in Myanmar were good."The prospect of dialogue is good. I do not want to elaborate on it. In fact, I have to keep everything confidential," he told reporters after their meeting.

Talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar's ruling military junta began in October 2000, but they are widely believed to have stalled, having not even progressed beyond a confidence-building stage.

During his 11-day visit here, Pinheiro has also held discussions with leading members of the ruling junta including military intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt and Foreign Minister Win Aung.

While outside Yangon, the Brazilian academic is also expected to visit Mawlamyine, the Mon state capital. He is likely to meet with veteran and elderly politicians being held in the jail there, according to Mon political sources.

International concern has been regularly raised over elderly and sick prisoners failing to receive appropriate medical treatment while in Myanmar's jails.

The junta originally invited Pinheiro to travel to northeastern Shan state, to investigate a report by two Shan women's groups based in Thailand who had alleged that the military used rape as a weapon of war.But Pinheiro cancelled the planned three-day trip, saying it was not possible to do enough fact-finding within the short period.The envoy is due to return to Yangon Friday, and is scheduled to depart Myanmar on October 28.

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