|  										  This  will be Quintana's third trip to Myanmar. Previously, permission to  meet Suu Kyi was denied to him.The Myanmar is slated to hold its first  election in over two decades, this year.
  "I hope that my request to the government to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will be granted this time.
 "It  would be important for me to meet with political party leaders in the  context of this year's landmark elections," said Quintana, Special  Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.
  Nobel  Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, 64, has been under detention for most of  the past two past decades.She is the leader of the opposition National  League for Democracy (NLD), which won the national elections in 1990.
  Last  year, Suu Kyi, was sentenced to 18 months of house detention for  violating terms of her detention after an uninvited American swam ashore  to her house where she was already being held.
  The verdict will prevent her from contesting the elections scheduled in 2010.  The  US and other Western nations have been imposing sanctions because of  Myanmar's refusal to release Suu Kyi, and the military junta is accused  of human rights violations in the country.
  In the past, China and Russia have vetoed Security Council resolutions against Myanmar.
  
 
 During  his two-day visit to Myanmar in July, UN Chief Ban Ki-moon, made three  demands on Myanmar leadership - to release 2,200 political prisoners,  hold free and fair elections in 2010 and resume a dialogue between  government and opposition.
  
 
 On this trip, the special Rapporteur will  also travel to Northern Rakhine state, home to thousands of Rohingya, a  Muslim ethnic group.
  In his previous report to the Geneva-based  Human Rights Council, Ojea Quintana, recommends the repeal of a  discriminatory legislation in Northern Rakhine State where many Muslims  have been deprived of citizenship, movement and fundamental freedoms.
  
 
 "Muslim communities compromise serious human rights violations," he said, previously.
  
 
 A  lawyer from Argentina and a human rights expert, Ojea Quintana, was  appointed special Rapporteur in May 2008, and will report his findings  to the Human Rights Council in March. 
  
 
 Source: DECCAN HERALD
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