Myanmar quiet before Gambari’s arrival

YANGON, Myanmar, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Myanmar’s military junta may have ignored renewed protests by monks but that may encourage more such actions when a special U.N. envoy arrives.

The new protest by a small group of Buddhist monks Wednesday in a northwest city was a quiet one and there was calm in most of the cities Thursday, the International Herald Tribune reported. The Wednesday action was the first public demonstration since the junta’s crackdown in September.

U.N. Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari, scheduled to arrive Saturday in Myanmar, was expected to continue his demand on the military rulers to begin talking to opposition figures. Some analysts and dissidents told the Tribune the monks may be emboldened to use the occasion to hold more protests.

“It highlights the fact that there continues to be a lot of frustration,” Charles Petrie, a senior U.N. official in Myanmar, told the newspaper from Yangon, formerly called Rangoon.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said during his six-day stay, Gambari would promote “democratic measures by the Myanmar government, including the release of all detained students and demonstrators.”