UN envoy shuttles between Burmese chief and Suu Kyi

The UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari yesterday held a second round of talks with the detained pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, hours after meeting Burma's junta chief, General Than Shwe, in a bout of shuttle diplomacy aimed at defusing the political crisis fuelled by the military crackdown that has left at least 13 people dead.

No details emerged yesterday on the talks between the 74-year-old general and Mr Gambari, a seasoned diplomat and former Nigerian foreign minister. Afterwards, Mr Gambari, who had had to wait three days for the meeting, went on to Singapore before heading for the UN in New York to brief the organisation's secretary general, Ban Ki-moon.

As the talks continued, the regime cut the night-time curfew by two hours. But up to 20,000 troops still patrolled Rangoon's streets and there was no word of more than 2,000 monks, students and activists who had been seized during the height of the demonstrations when 100,000 people marched in the streets.

Exiled dissident groups in neighbouring Thailand were worried about the detainees' conditions, claiming that they were not being given medicine or enough food and water. Opposition groups and foreign diplomats believe many more people have been killed than acknowledged by the junta.

Mr Gambari's brief was to tell the generals that the killings had to stop, that the prisoners should be freed and that the regime should start negotiations on moving towards democracy. It is a measure of the reclusive military leadership and its imperviousness to outside pressure, however, that there was great uncertainty as to whether Mr Gambari would even get to see Than Shwe. The two talked for an hour yesterday in the new administrative capital of Naypidaw, about 200 miles north of Rangoon, and were joined by the junta's deputy leader, General Maung Aye, and other senior figures.

Analysts believe Than Shwe's views expressed to Mr Gambari would have echoed the hard line given to the UN general assembly in New York hours before by the Burmese foreign minister, Nyan Win, who blamed the street violence on small groups of activists "exploited by opportunists determined to turn the situation into a showdown", and said the security forces had shown "utmost restraint".

After the meeting with Than Shwe, Mr Gambari flew back to Rangoonfor his 15-minute second meeting with Ms Suu Kyi.

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