U.N. tells Myanmar to release prisoners

NAY PI TAW, Myanmar, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- The U.N. special envoy to Myanmar has told the ruling military junta in Nay Pi Taw it is critical political detainees be freed, a U.N. statement said.

Ibrahim Gambari arrived in the country formerly called Burma on Saturday and held meetings Tuesday with a team of various state ministers, a U.N. release said.

Among the detainees discussed was pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under strict house arrest for 11 of the past 17 years.

Gambari also met with the minister for religious affairs to discuss the government’s response to the participation of Buddhist monks in recent demonstrations over the doubling of gas prices, the statement said.

As part of his visit, Gambari was to meet with Prime Minister Lt.-Gen. Thein Sein, and later in Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon, with Suu Kyi along with members of the International Red Cross.