A U.N. envoy met with Burma's top leader and his deputies Tuesday in a bid to end the country's political crisis, as the junta's foreign minister defended a deadly crackdown on democracy advocates that provoked global revulsion.Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N.'s special envoy to Burma, met with Senior Gen. Than Shwe in the junta's remote new capital, Naypyitaw, two foreign diplomats said.
Also present were Deputy Senior Gen. Maung Aye — who is one rank below Than Shwe — Gen. Thura Shwe Mann, the No. 3, and acting Prime Minister Thein Sein, who's fourth in the hierarchy, another diplomat said. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. No details of the meeting were available.
While Gambari was trying to broker peace, the junta's security forces lightened their presence in Rangoon, the country's main city, which remained quiet after troops and police brutally quelled mass protests last week. The 9 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew was scaled back to 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
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