YANGON, Oct 25: Myanmar’s detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi met for the first time on Thursday a senior junta official appointed to work with the country’s main opposition party, state television reported.

“Today relations manager Aung Kyi met with Aung San Suu Kyi at a state guesthouse,” the report said, referring to Myanmar’s labour minister, named earlier this month to develop ties with the Nobel peace prize winner.

The report said the pair met for a little over an hour, but did not give any details about the content of the talks.

It showed some brief footage of the meeting, a rarity in a country where Aung San Suu Kyi has spent years out of the public’s sight.

Earlier, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) was seen by residents being taken from her lakeside home, where she has been held under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years.

Aung San Suu Kyi last left her villa on October 2, when she met UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari at a military guesthouse in Yangon.

Thursday marked her first meeting with Aung Kyi, who was appointed following a recommendation by Gambari that the junta name an official to develop ties with the opposition leader.

It comes amid increasing diplomatic pressure ahead of Gambari’s expected second visit to Myanmar since the junta’s violent crackdown on peaceful anti-government protests in September, which left at least 13 people dead.

Gambari, who is scheduled to arrive in the first week of November, will be followed by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the UN special rapporteur on human rights.

NLD officials said earlier in the day that they were unaware of any meeting between their leader and the government.

Foreign diplomats had also said they had no confirmation of a meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi, but did say they were encouraged by her departure from her home.

“It’s about time to start” talks with the junta, said one western diplomat who did not want to be named. “We want genuine dialogue.”—AFP