US senator Jim Webb meets Aung San Suu Kyi in landmark visit to Burma

[Are_grits_groceries]

US Senator Jim Webb met Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi today, the first foreign official allowed to see her since she was sentenced to 18 months of detention by the regime.

The 64-year-old Nobel Peace laureate was driven from her home, where she is under house arrest, to a nearby government guest house for a 40-minute meeting with Webb. She was then taken back to her residence by car.

Webb's visit, the first by a member of the US Congress in more than a decade, has drawn criticism from activists who say it confers legitimacy on the regime, but the Obama administration gave the Virginia Democrat its blessing.

The regime's decision to grant him permission to meet Suu Kyi may have been intended to mitigate international criticism following her trial. In July, authorities barred the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, from meeting her during a two-day visit.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/15/aung-san-suu-kyi-jim-webb-burma-us

This is amazing. I am surprised they allowed him to meet with her for any reason.