Suu Kyi keen to cooperate with junta

Associated Press

YANGON: Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is ready to cooperate with Myanmar’s ruling junta in lifting foreign sanctions but it remains uncertain if the reconciliation efforts will yield results.

In a letter to junta chief Senior Gen Than Shwe released today, Suu Kyi has requested a meeting to explain how she would cooperate in tasks “beneficial to the country.” She does not specify what those might be.

“The letter is very significant. It clearly shows Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s willingness to work with the government in the interest of the nation,” said her National League for Democracy party spokesman Nyan Win.

The party, which released the text, had previously described in general terms the contents of the letter, dated November 11. The government has yet to respond.

Suu Kyi’s initiative is the latest move to try to break the political deadlock that began when the NLD won a 1990 general election. It’s difficult to judge the significance of the latest moves, said Donald Seekins, a Myanmar expert at Japan’s Meio University, noting that there have been previous stillborn attempts at reconciliation.