Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi held her first ever meeting with the top civilian official in the Burmese regime, President Thein Sein, in the isolated capital of Naypyidaw. There had earlier been rumors that Ms. Suu Kyi would be going to Naypyidaw to attend a government sponsored workshop on economic development and poverty alleviation, but instead she apparently held a one hour meeting with Thein Sein, then reportedly paid a social call to his wife and granddaughter. While there have been no details about what was discussed, sources in Burma indicate that the government was reaching out to Ms. Suu Kyi in order to get her assistance with its efforts to engage with Burma’s fractious ethnic groups—several of which have been engaged in armed conflict with the central government for decades.
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