June 8, 2003	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 7, 1424

YANGON, June 7: UN envoy Razali Ismail met the Myanmar junta’s number-three on Saturday to push for a meeting with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and seek her release after one week in detention, officials said.

Sources in Yangon said Mr Razali could cut short his mission and leave Myanmar if the government refuses to allow him to see Aung San Suu Kyi, who was reported injured in violent clashes in northern Myanmar on May 30.

After the talks with military intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt, Razali indicated he had not yet been granted a meeting, but that he was still hopeful of securing one.

“I am still discussing this with the government,” he told reporters as he left a meeting with Foreign Minister Win Aung.

A source close to the national reconciliation process, which Razali initiated here nearly three years ago, said news gleaned about Aung San Suu Kyi’s situation during the talks with Khin Nyunt was “rather encouraging”.

“Nothing has been settled yet but we can still hold out some hope,” he said. “Razali is not leaving yet. He will not leave tomorrow.”

Before arriving here on Friday on a visit scheduled to run to June 10, Razali said he believed he had a “realistic chance” of seeing the Nobel peace laureate, despite failing to secure a guarantee from the government.—AFP