United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon said today he was "deeply disappointed" that military-ruled Burma's top general had rejected his request to meet with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr Ban, who was made to wait overnight for the decision, said he pressed junta leader Than Shwe but was told that Suu Kyi was on trial and the regime did not want to be seen to interfere with the judicial process.
"I'm deeply disappointed," Mr Ban told reporters after his 30-minute meeting with the regime's reclusive 76-year-old leader.
"I think they have missed a very important opportunity of demonstrating their willingness to commit to continuing reconciliation with all political leaders.
"I pressed as hard as I could as a way of committing themselves to this [democratisation] process," he said.
Mr Ban requested the visit during a rare meeting on Friday with Than Shwe, but he left the two-hour session with no clear answer.
Ms Suu Kyi, who has spearheaded the campaign for democracy for two decades in the former Burma, is currently on trial for breaching terms of her house arrest by allowing an American intruder to stay at her home on May 4th.
Critics have dismissed her hearing as a show trial and an attempt by the generals to keep her out of multi-party elections to be held next year.
Ms Suu Kyi's trial was adjourned on Friday until July 10th because of a clerical error by the court, according to her lawyer.
The secretary-general said he urged the regime to drop the charges against Ms Suu Kyi and other political leaders, but received no guarantees.
"It is a setback to the international community's efforts to provide a helping hand to Myanmar at this time," he said.
Mr Ban, one of the few top world figures the Burma leader is willing to meet, also presented Than Shwe with a number of proposals to help the development of democracy.
He asked for the release of more than 2,000 political prisoners ahead of the polls, the opening of real dialogue between the government and opposition, and the creating of conditions conducive to free and fair elections.
Mr Ban said the junta leader expressed his commitment to ensuring the elections were "free and credible".
A UN official also said the delegation had urged the Senior General to accept international monitors.
However, it was not immediately known if Than Shwe agreed to all of Mr Ban's requests, but the UN chief said he was optimistic political prisoners would be freed to take part in elections.
"I believe they are very seriously considering releasing political prisoners, if not soon, at the latest before the beginning of this election," he said.
A UN official said on condition of anonymity that Than Shwe told the delegation that next time Ban visits the country, he and his generals would all be civilians.
"When you come back I will be an ordinary citizen, a lay person and my colleagues will too, because it will be a civilian government," the official quoted Than Shwe as telling Ban.
The UN visit was the lead story in Burma's state-controlled media today, with three dailies splashing pictures of Mr Ban's meeting with Than Shwe on the front and back pages.
Britain's prime minister Gordon Brown called on the Burma authorities on Friday to halt Ms Suu Kyi's trial, which "made mockery of justice" and "undermines their credibility in the eyes of the world".
Mr Ban himself had described his current second visit to Myanmar as a "very tough mission" and made clear he was not expecting radical changes overnight in a country that has been ruled by a military junta for 47 years.
He had expressed concern his trip could be used by the ruling generals for propaganda purposes but he decided to go anyway, hoping his knack for quiet diplomacy would persuade the generals to compromise, as they did last year when Ban convinced them to lift humanitarian aid restrictions after Cyclone Nargis.
The secretary-general is also expected to give a speech in Rangoon later today to 500 people, among them state officials, diplomats and opposition politicians, in which he will outline his vision for a democratic Burma.
Reuters