U.N.'s Ban to urge Myanmar leader to free prisoners

By Louis Charbonneau

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has a rare meeting with Myanmar's top general on Friday where he will urge the secretive leader to free all political prisoners and ensure next year's elections are credible.

Ban told reporters in Singapore he would ask Senior General Than Shwe when they meet in the country's new capital, Naypyidaw, to allow to him to see opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose widely criticized trial is expected to resume on Friday -- the first day of Ban's two-day visit.

The stakes are high for Ban and the risk of failure great.

Halfway through a five-year term at the helm of the United Nations, Ban has faced a wave of criticism recently from detractors who say his low-key approach to the job does not work. He is eager to prove them wrong, U.N. diplomats say.

Ban made clear that he was under no illusions about how difficult it will be to persuade the military junta in the former Burma to free prisoners and take concrete steps toward democracy ahead of next year's multi-party elections.

"I'm visiting Myanmar with certain uncertainties," he said.

"We must try our best to bring changes. I'll do my best (but) I do not believe my visit should be a make-or-break event... This will be a very difficult mission."

He said he would also press Than Shwe and Prime Minister Thein Sein to engage in "meaningful and credible dialogue" with Suu Kyi and the opposition.

Ban said he would meet with representatives of "registered political parties" in Naypyidaw, including Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. However, Suu Kyi herself will not be at that meeting.

It was not yet clear if he would be able to meet with Suu Kyi, who has spent 14 of the past 19 years in detention, mostly under house arrest at her lakeside home in Yangon. It will be up to Than Shwe whether Ban can see her.

SUU KYI ON TRIAL

The Nobel laureate, 64, was charged with violating the terms of her house arrest last month by allowing an American intruder to stay at her home, which prosecutors say breached a security law designed to thwart "subversive elements."

However, critics say the charges are trumped up and the trial is an attempt to keep Suu Kyi out of multi-party elections next year, which are expected to entrench nearly half a century of army rule.

Human rights groups are watching Ban's moves closely. According to several U.N. diplomats, one influential group, New York-based Human Rights Watch, advised Ban not to accept the junta's invitation for a July 3-4 visit, warning him that it could be used for propaganda purposes.

But Ban, the diplomats said, decided to go anyway, hoping his presence and knack for closed-door, quiet diplomacy would persuade the generals to compromise, as they did last May when Ban convinced them to lift restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis.