BURMA’S junta appeared to be split last night over whether to let Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy leader, meet a United Nations envoy, thus bringing her back to political life after years in isolation under house arrest.

A diplomatic source in Rangoon said there was “positive evolution” towards bringing the UN’s envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, together with Suu Kyi, the 62-year-old Nobel peace prize winner.

However the envoy was put on a flight to the generals' jungle capital, Naypidaw, 240 miles north of Rangoon, shortly after his arrival. "We have concerns that Gambari was swiftly moved from Rangoon to the new capital in the interior, far from population centres," said Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman.

On the streets the generals seemed to have won their struggle to suppress mass protests. But international pressure on the regime after dozens of deaths was putting it under strain.

Tensions between General Than Shwe, 74, the junta leader, and younger officers who favour a softer line were reported to foreign embassies. Witnesses told of soldiers refusing to fire on Buddhist monks and officers beating up men who disobeyed orders.

Last night the army set up a machinegun nest outside Suu Kyi’s house and deployed hundreds of troops, indicating that the leader of Burma’s bloodied democracy movement had once more moved to centre stage. Gordon Brown was among those who called for the UN envoy to be granted access to her.

Than Shwe hates her and refuses to allow her name to be mentioned in his presence. But Maung Aye, 69, his second-in-command, is said to be urging a tactical compromise.

Suu Kyi has been kept out of public view since 2003 when the junta abandoned its dialogue and then purged the head of military intelligence, who had organised talks with her.

China, the regime’s closest ally, has been severely embarrassed by the scenes of bloodshed sent around the world by internet bloggers and foreign journalists in Rangoon. It wants the world’s attention to shift towards a political initiative.

Yesterday the protests flared and died in pockets of resistance across Rangoon amid disorganised street marches and shouts of rage, swiftly broken up by charging men in uniform.

Shots were fired wildly when troops attacked a group of about 200 people near the city’s Anglican cathedral. The soldiers savagely beat anyone they caught.

Witnesses reported similar skirmishes all over the city. The security forces employed an iron fist to show off the regime’s claim that “stability” had returned. Vigilantes, wielding clubs and sharp weapons, joined the attacks on those who dared to gather.

A combination of barbed wire barricades and efficient tactics on the street kept the protesters on the run and the military in command. “They have the place under lock and key again,” a western diplomat said last night.

Burma: useful web links

Mizzima -news agency run by Burmese people in exile

Aung San Suu Kyi's web pages

Burmese blogger (London based) whose blog has turned inot blog into a virtual news agency

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