Yangon, September 30: A UN envoy held back-to-back meetings today with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar's military rulers trying to find peaceful solution to the crisis that has engulfed the impoverished country.

The separate talks occurred as thousands of troops locked down Myanmar's largest cities today.

Scores of people were arrested overnight, further weakening a flagging uprising to end 45 years of military dictatorship.

Ibrahim Gambari the UN's special envoy to Myanmar, went to the remote bunker-like capital Naypyitw yesterday to meet with the junta and stayed overnight, diplomats said.

He returned to Yangon today and was whisked to the State Guest House to meet Suu Kyi, who was brought out of house arrest to see the UN envoy in what appeared to be an unexpected concession by the junta.

He was likely to stay in Yangon overnight, said the diplomats.

The meeting With Suu kyi lasted about 90 minutes, the diplomats said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.

Details of the meeting were not immediately known.

Many people see China, Myanmar's biggest trading partner, as the most likely outside catalyst for change.

But China, India and Russia do not seem prepared to go beyond words in dealing with the junta, ruling out sanctions as they jostle for a chance to get at Myanmar's bountiful and largely untapped natural resources, especially its oil and gas.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, a 10-member bloc which includes Myanmar, has expressed its "revulsion" at the crackdown, but gave no indication that it is considering an expulsion or any other action.

The protests drew international attention after thousands of Buddhist monks joined the people in venting anger at decades of brutal military rule.

At the height of the protests, some 70,000 people turned out.

The junta, which has a long history of snuffing out dissent, cracked down Wednesday and Thursday, opening fire into a crowd of peaceful protesters and arresting scores.

Though the official death toll is 10, foreign diplomats, dissident groups say the number is likely much higher.

Despite Gambari's meetings, it was not clear how much influence the junta will allow him to exert on Myanmar's affairs.

The UN has repeatedly failed to bring about a reconciliation between the military government and the pro-democracy opposition.

Gambari and his predecessor, Razali Ismail of Malaysia, have also failed to secure freedom for Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace prize winner who has come to symbolise the struggle for democracy in Myanmar.

Her National League for Democracy party won the 1990 general elections, which the junta called after crushing a much larger pro-democracy movement in 1988.But the party was never allowed to take power, and many of its top members were jailed.

Suu Kyi has spent 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest and has rarely been seen by the outside world.

Gambari was the last foreign official to have met her on Nov.

11, 2006.The number of troops in Yangon, the largest city, swelled to about 20,000 today after reinforcements arrived overnight, ensuring that almost all demonstrators would remain off the streets, another Asian diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

Comment