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YANGON : Myanmar's opposition party said UN chief Ban Ki-moon's failure to meet its imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his trip to the military-ruled nation was a "great loss".
The UN Secretary General left Myanmar empty-handed from his two-day visit after the ruling junta snubbed his attempts to visit the pro-democracy icon.
"Mr Ban Ki-moon did not work as he intended during his visit," said Nyan Win, spokesman for the Nobel Peace Laureate's National League for Democracy (NLD).
"Failing to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was important. We would like to say it was a great loss for him.
"But we do not want to say his trip was a failure as we do not know in detail what he discussed with Senior General Than Shwe," he added.
Ban departed with a stern rebuke for the military ruler, saying the reclusive general had missed an opportunity to show the junta's commitment to implementing democratic reform and to holding free elections in 2010.
But his failure to extract even the smallest concession from the iron-fisted military plays into the hands of critics, who warned him against visiting while Aung San Suu Kyi faces an internationally-condemned trial.
The UN chief admitted he was "deeply disappointed" by Than Shwe's intransigence over visiting the opposition leader. He was even kept waiting overnight in the capital Naypyidaw Friday to hear about the refusal.
Myanmar's state media said Sunday that while Than Shwe said he "would like" to arrange a meeting between Ban and Aung San Suu Kyi, the UN boss's requests were refused because of her current trial at Insein prison in Yangon.
Than Shwe told Ban "that the case is being heard freely and fairly, so they have no right to arrange a meeting between the UNSG (secretary general) and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi", according to The New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
Aung San Suu Kyi is charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest after a US man swam uninvited to her lakeside house in May. Ban had hoped to secure her release and that of Myanmar's estimated 2,100 political prisoners.
He defended himself against criticisms that his trip was fruitless, saying that the junta chief only rejected his request to meet Aung San Suu Kyi.
His meetings with Than Shwe had allowed him to convey "very frankly" the international community's concerns about Myanmar's progress towards democracy, he added.
Rights groups and analysts warned however that the junta could use the high-profile visit as a way of showing that it was listening to international concerns -- while doing nothing about them.
"They (Myanmar's ruling generals) brought Ban Ki-moon for public relations purposes," said Zarni, a Myanmar analyst at the London School of Economics who goes by only one name.
In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown raised the prospect of further sanctions against Myanmar following Ban's visit while US President Barack Obama has called the case against Aung San Suu Kyi a "show trial".
The opposition leader has been either jailed or under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years since the junta refused to recognise the NLD's victory in Myanmar's last elections, in 1990.
Critics have accused the junta of using her trial as an excuse to keep her locked up for next year's polls. They also say the elections are a sham designed to entrench the generals' power.
In a rare public speech to hundreds of diplomats and aid workers in the commercial hub Yangon before departing late Saturday, Ban outlined his vision for a democratic Myanmar.
"I am here today to say: Myanmar, you are not alone. We want to work with you for a united, peaceful, prosperous, democratic and modern Myanmar," he said, adding that the elections should be free, fair and inclusive.
The New Light of Myanmar said Than Shwe assured Ban: "The government will hold fair elections in 2010. Necessary laws, regulations and procedures are being drafted to be completed in time".
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962.
- AFP/ir
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