US diplomat meets with Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi has been subjected to house arrest for around 14 of the past 20 years
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Wednesday, 04, Nov 2009 10:13
By Richard James.
A senior US diplomat is reported to have held meetings with Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Kurt Campbell, the most senior US official to visit the country in 14 years, is said to have met with Suu Kyi at a hotel in the capital Yangon.
The meeting comes as the US attempts to redefine its policy of engagement with the military junta in Burma.
Earlier today, Mr Campbell and his deputy Scot Marciel are also said to have met with the military government's prime minister Thein Sein.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton announced earlier this year president Barack Obama and his administration would attempt to directly engage with the military leaders without abandoning existing sanctions.
The international community has continually criticised the detention of the 64-year-old Suu Kyi, who has been subjected to house arrest for around 14 of the past 20 years.
Earlier this year she was sentenced to a further 18 months after American John Yettaw swam uninvited to her home in Yangon.
No details have so far been released regarding what Mr Campbell and Suu Kyi discussed during their meeting today.