The head of the junta which seized power in Burma in a coup on February 1, received Sunday a former close to Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader legitimately elected and now imprisoned.
This is the first time since the coup that a friend of Aung San Suu Kyi has met a junta official.
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The 94-year-old and in poor health, Tin Oo, a former general and co-founder with Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy (LND), has however withdrawn from politics completely in recent years, even if he arrived at the meeting wearing the NLD badge.
"
I doubt that this meeting was sanctioned by the party,
" said Richard Horsey, expert for Burma from the NGO International Crisis Group.
Dressed in civilian clothes, the junta leader, "
Min Aung Hlaing notably offered (to Tin Oo) help for his health problems, including access to the army hospital if necessary
", indicated the communication service of the junta.
The head of the junta also met a former head of the secret service and prime minister with a very winding political background.
Imprisoned by the junta, released in 2012, he was first seen by the West as a reformer, but his reign as head of the secret service was soon marked by a ruthless struggle against political activists, with numerous arrests and cases of torture.
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The two meetings come as Ms. Suu Kyi remains in jail, and the verdict of her first trial, on charges of inciting public unrest, is due to be announced on Monday.
