Myanmar junta refuses UN envoy visit

Ag AFP

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar:

Myanmar’s junta refused

on Friday to let a UN

envoy visit the country,

despite mounting international efforts for a diplomatic solution to the postcoup crisis.

The UN’s special envoy

for Myanmar, Christine

Schraner Burgener, is on a

tour of Asian countries

aimed at charting a path

out of the turmoil engulfing the country. It comes

amid growing international concern at events in

Myanmar, rocked by daily

protests since the military

ousted civilian leader

Aung San Suu Kyi and

seized power on February

1.

Burgener starts her

trip in Thailand and will

also visit China, though

exact details and timings

for her trip have not been

confirmed.

UN officials say Burgener wants to travel to

Myanmar for face-to-face

meetings with the generals, but a junta

spokesman ruled it out.

"We have not permitted this. We also have no

plan to allow it at this moment," spokesman Zaw

Min Tun told AFP.

Burgener confirmed

the junta had said no to

her visit.