"The Secretary-General reiterates his belief, shared by ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] and much of the international community, that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's continued detention is not in the interest of Myanmar's processes of national reconciliation and democratization," a UN spokesman said in a statement released today.

Over the past several years Mr. Annan has been pushing the Government of the South Asian country to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and allow a role for opposition parties such as the National League for Democracy (NLD), which she heads.

While there had been signs of progress in 2003 when the Myanmar authorities announced their seven-point road map towards democracy, basic goals have not been met since then, according to the most recent report by Mr. Annan. The National Convention charged with drawing up principles for a new constitution continues to exclude representatives of many political parties, including the NLD.