A senior official from the Ministry of Information confirmed on Friday that Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had met President Thein Sein at the presidential palace on Friday. He gave no further details apart from the fact that the meeting was short.

In a sign of reconciliation, the authorities had invited the Nobel laureate to visit the new capital Naypidaw. It has also taken steps towards more engagement by arranging two meetings between Myanmar’s Labor Minister Aung Kyi and the charismatic Oxford-educated 66-year-old.

Relentless struggle

The daughter of Myanmar's late independence hero General Aung San is the figurehead of Myanmar's fight against military dictatorship. She spent most of the past two decades in jail or under house arrest and was released only last November after national elections that were widely criticized as being a sham took place. The army ensured it would dominate both parliament and the new cabinet.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party (NLD), which won the 1990 elections but was never allowed to take power by the junta, boycotted the poll because of rules that seemed designed to exclude her from participating. It was stripped of its status as a political party as a result.

The military's 49-year grip on power officially ended in March of this year, when the ruling State Peace and Development Council made way for a nominally civilian government led mostly by retired generals.

Softening stance

Other recent signs of the government's softening stance include an invitation to the International Monetary Fund to advise it on how to manage problems with its kyat currency and a series of meetings between senior government officials and Western delegations.

Moreover, on Thursday President Thein Sein, the country's first civilian president, called for several armed ethnic rebel groups to hold peace talks with the government to end decades of hostilities.

The unusual openness shown by Myanmar's leaders is aimed in part at boosting their image abroad, with a view to consolidating power at home and ending decades of Western sanctions.

Western countries have insisted that the embargoes will remain in place until an estimated 2,100 political prisoners are released.

Author: Sachin Gaur (Reuters, dpa, AFP)

Editor: Anne Thomas