The General opens his door to Suu Kyi

But is it just a trick to divert attention from the monastery raids, asks edward loxton

In a surprise reversal of official US policy on Burma, Washington's charge d'affaires in Rangoon, Shari Villarosa, flew to the country's new capital, Naypyidaw, today for a meeting with junta leaders.

Until now, the US has insisted it would only meet with regime representatives on Burmese soil if Washington's diplomats were also admitted to see opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent nearly 12 years under house arrest at her Rangoon home.

Villarosa has been an outspoken critic of the regime's violent crackdown on recent mass protests and on other human rights abuses. Together with Britain's ambassador, Mark Canning, she has been a valuable, on-the-ground reporter and commentator on the events shaking Burma in recent weeks.

As the US diplomat hurried to Naypyidaw, junta leader Than Shwe sprang another surprise - announcing that he was prepared

Junta leader Than Shwe has announced that he is prepared to meet jailed opposition leader San Suu Kyi

to meet Suu Kyi provided she met certain government-dictated conditions, including ending her support for sanctions on Burma.

Than Shwe is known to harbour a visceral hatred for Suu Ki, so his offer is seen by Burmese opposition activists as only another trick to divert attention from a continuing crackdown on dissidents and monasteries. Homes in Rangoon and Mandalay and a number of monasteries were again raided in the early hours of today.

Ambassador Canning spoke of widespread intimidation in an interview with the TV network Al Jazeera, and as if to emphasise his concern he was filmed only from the neck down, with his face never visible.

Later today, the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is due to report publicly on his recent mission to help end the crisis. The Nigerian envoy was led a wild goose chase through Burma before being admitted to the regime's inner sanctum in Naypyidaw for talks which dissident sources say achieved nothing significant.