The Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met a minister from the six-month-old government for the first time. The timing of the talks is perhaps more important than the content.
Reportagem de Rachel Harvey.
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The meeting comes a month after the government warned Aung San Suu Kyi to stop all political activities and cautioned against her travelling outside Rangoon. But Miss Suu Kyi recently went ahead with a trip to the town of Bagan and has continued to conduct interviews with international media and maintain close contact with foreign diplomats.
No agenda for the talks was made public. In fact the entire meeting was shrouded in secrecy until the very last minute. So it's not clear if this invitation to talks is a form of private reprimand or a recognition that the pro-democracy leader is still a force to be reckoned with.
But the mere fact that the government has renewed direct contact using a minister who performed the same role under the previous military leadership has raised hopes that perhaps the door to negotiation has been reopened.
It may also be relevant that the meeting is taking place immediately after a regional forum during which the American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, called for concrete and measurable steps towards reform in Burma.
The true test of Aung San Suu Kyi's talks with the new government will be to see if anything substantive emerges from them. Or will this meeting turn out to be another carefully choreographed piece of window dressing, much in the manner of the Burma of old.
Rachel Harvey, BBC
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cautioned against (alertado que seria ruim fazer algo) warned that it would be bad to do something
agenda (relação de assuntos a serem discutidos numa reunião) list of things to be discussed in a meeting
shrouded in secrecy (divulgado com pouquíssima informação) with very little information about it made public
reprimand (declaração oficial desaprovando ações tomadas por alguém) official statement of disapproval of someone's actions
a force to be reckoned with (alguém que tenha poder, autoridade e respeito e que deve ser levado a sério) someone who has respect, power and authority and who should be taken seriously
has raised hopes (fez as pessoas pensarem que algo positivo é possível acontecer) has made people think that something positive is possible
the door to negotiation (oportunidade de se realizar uma discussão significativa) the opportunity for meaningful discussions
concrete and measurable steps (ações que são claramente capazes de criar mudanças) actions which are clear to see that make real changes
substantive (significativo) meaningful
carefully coreographed piece of window dressing (uma oportunidade para se fazer propaganda que dê uma ideia de que aparentemente as coisas estão avançando mas na verdade nada está mudando) an opportunity for propaganda which has been arranged so that on the surface it looks like progress is being made but in reality nothing is changing