On Friday Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi met with leaders of her party, for the first time in three years. She also met with the general Aung Kyi appointed by the government to be her liaison. According to L.A. Times she said that she was optimistic that the 20-year deadlock might come to an end.  

Suu Kyi along with other three colleagues from the National League for Democracy met with Aung Kyi in order to arrange talks with senior leaders of the country.

Nyan Win, a party spokesman said that Suu Kyi believed “the ruling authorities have the will for national reconciliation.”

According to local media the junta will continue with democratic actions, due to a promise made in July in order to set up a constitution.

The meetings from today, although small, are a change in the dealings between the military government and Suu Kyi, detained for 12 of the last 18 years.

Analysts believe that the reconciliation could be just a compromise made under pressure.

Suu Kyi’s party won in 1990 the elections and ever since then she’s been in and out of jail. The junta took power and refused to hand it over.

Aung Din, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma said: “I would say it is a breakthrough if she is able to meet the leadership without preconditions and to talk face to face as equals. She said she is willing to engage with the military for the sake of the country, and she is not calling for confrontation with government or regime change.”

U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari was the one that smoothed the arrangement for talks between the government and Suu Kyi. Still he was refused by the regime to mediate the talks. Mr. Gambari ended on Thursday a six-day trip to Myanmar.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N, met on Friday in New York with 60 Burmese activists and human rights groups and told them that the democracy and human rights in Myanmar will be supported by the U.S.

According to L.A. Times he said: “There have been some positive steps, but that’s insufficient. More needs to happen. What we think is needed is a genuine reconciliation, a transition to democracy, release of all prisoners, reconciliation talks with the government and the opposition led by Ms. Aung Sang Suu Kyi, with the U.N. being present.”

Burmese activists declared that they were pleased by the results and by the pressure made by the U.S.