'There can be no free and fair elections while key leaders of Burma's democratic opposition including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 other political prisoners languish in Burma's prisons,' said Rosemary A. DiCarlo, speaking for the US.

'As the only political figure in the country to have received a popular democratic mandate, she (Suu Kyi) has a central role to play in the future of a democratic Burma,' said British envoy Philip Parham.

Suu Kyi, 64, has been under detention for most of the past two past decades. She is the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the national elections in 1990.

The military rulers ignored the results and did not hand over power. She is presently on trial for breaching the conditions of her house arrest when a US national swam across a lake and broke into her compound.

Ambassador Swe called the Secretary-General's visit 'successful', adding that 'his inability to meet with Ms. Suu Kyi should not be seen as the only benchmark for the success or failure of his visit'.

On the humanitarian front, the Secretary General said: 'I saw for myself the progress made one year later in the recovery and reconstruction of the cyclone affected region'.

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis tore through southern Myanmar claiming at least 140,000 victims and affecting 2.4 million others.

(Betwa Sharma can be contacted at betwasharma@gmail.com)