Villarosa invited to Naypyidaw

YANGON (AFP) — The top US diplomat in Myanmar headed to talks with its ruling generals Friday as the junta made a heavily qualified offer to meet democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi after its crackdown on protests.

Shari Villarosa, the charge d'affaires at the US embassy here, was invited by the government to its remote capital Naypyidaw but had received no word on who she would be meeting, US officials said.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said she would pass on a "very clear message" to the generals to start "meaningful" dialogue with opposition groups.

The unexpected, rare invitation was announced hours after state television said junta leader Senior General Than Shwe had offered to meet personally with Aung San Suu Kyi. [...]Observers said the conditions attached to the offer meant there was only a remote possibility that talks would actually take place.

"It's not enough to play diplomatic games," said Dave Mathieson, a Myanmar consultant for Human Rights Watch.

"They have to do something substantial to prove that they're serious about it. The first step would be to let her out of house arrest straight away."