Two Opposition Leaders Freed Ahead of U.N. Visit

Two senior members of the National League for Democracy opposition party were freed from virtual house arrest a day before the U.N. envoy who kick-started reconciliation talks was to visit the country.

With the lifting of restrictions on party Chairman Aung Shwe and Vice Chairman Tin Oo, only Nobel peace laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest a year after party members were detained for defying a travel ban.

The release comes as Myanmar’s military junta prepares to welcome U.N. envoy Razali Ismail of Malaysia. His agenda has not been made public, but it is probably aimed at monitoring the progress of reconciliation talks he helped start between Suu Kyi and the junta in October.