UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday reiterated his appeal for internal dialogue in Myanmar.

In a statement released by his spokesman, Annan said he was deeply disappointed to learn that the Myanmar authorities have extended the detention under house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, general secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

"Despite this setback, the international community cannot abandon the search for improvements in the difficult situation in Myanmar," the secretary-general said.

He promised to continue to make every effort to secure not only the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political detainees, but also to urge Myanmar's authorities to take other steps they discussed with Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari during his recent visit to the country.

Annan also called for Myanmar's authorities to consider the possibility of internal dialogue that could lead to national reconciliation.

The Myanmar government on Saturday extended to another one year the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been put under detention and later house arrest since the bloody incident on May 30, 2003, in which clashes occurred between supporters of the government and those of the NLD.

Source: Xinhua