UN to hear report from Burma envoy

FP Photo: US First Lady Laura Bush(L) meets with the UN envoy for Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari at...

New York (dpa) - The United Nations envoy for Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is scheduled to discuss his diplomatic troubleshooting in the Asian nation with the UN General Assembly Tuesday evening (Thailand time).

It will be the first such session since the military junta in that country crushed pro- democracy demonstrations in September.

Gambari will present an "overall" report on his three trips to Southeast Asia, including two visits to Burma, to carry out his mission of encouraging democratic reform in the country ruled by a military government for decades.

Spokesman Janos Tisovszky said Monday that representatives are to question Gambari on his mission in the closed-door meeting at UN headquarters.

"It will be an informal and closed meeting in which governments will also address the situation," Tisovszky said.

Gambari was in Washington Monday to discuss his efforts with US government officials, Tisovszky said. He met with First Lady Laura Bush, who has campaigned for democracy in Burma, and Stephen Hadley, the White House national security chief.

The UN has tried to bring democracy to Myanmar, calling for national reconciliation, a democratic reform of the country's institutions and the release of political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.