Myanmar
hosted its second major foreign diplomat of the weekend as UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-Moon came to the country on the heels of a visit by EU foreign policy
representative Catherine Ashton.
United
Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Myanmar on Sunday for talks
with the reformist regime and opposition leaders, making him the second
high-profile guest of the nation this weekend. The European Union's high
representative for foreign policy, Catherine Ashton, arrived in Myanmar on
Saturday.
Ban's visit
will be considerably different from his last in 2009. Back then, Ban said it
was a "very difficult mission" to convince the former strongman of
Myanmar's military junta, Senior General Than Shwe, to release political
prisoners.
Among the
prisoners at the time was opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has since
been released under President Thein Sein and elected to a seat in parliament,
although her party has refused to take its seats in parliament over a dispute
over the oath they are meant to take.
On this
trip, Ban is scheduled to meet with Suu Kyi as well as Sein. Ashton met with
Suu Kyi on Saturday and will also hold talks with Sein. On Saturday, she opened
the EU's first diplomatic office in Myanmar.
mz/tj (Reuters, AFP)
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