Burma’s military dictatorship is willing to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy leader, if she abandons her support for sanctions against the regime, the country’s state-controlled television reported last night.

The offer represents the first hint of compromise from the junta, a week after it embarked on the brutal suppression of huge antigovernment demonstrations.

Yesterday afternoon the authorities were persuaded to release a Burmese female employee of the UN in Rangoon, who had been seized with her family. Three other local UN staff have been arrested and released, along with a Burmese man working for the Japanese Embassy. Last night’s television news bulletin said that 2,093 people had been arrested, the first time that it has referred to mass arrests. Some estimates, by foreign diplomats in Rangoon and activist groups based abroad, put the figure at several thousand more.

“The Government ordered people not to gather as a precaution, but people gathered anyway,” said the state-run news programme, referring to an announcement that banned gatherings of more than five people. “They were arrested according to the law.” The bulletin said that 692 of the detainees had been released, after giving a written promise not to take part in future demonstrations.

The offer of talks was apparently made by General Than Shwe, the leader of the junta, during a meeting with Ibrahim Gambari, the United Nations envoy to Burma, this week.

Mr Gambari spent four days in the country and met Than Shwe and Ms Suu Kyi. Yesterday in New York he briefed Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General, and today he will make a presentation on his trip to the Security Council. He appears to have scored a modest success by persuading Than Shwe, in principle at least, to sit down with his democratic antagonist.

Whether the meeting takes place depends on Ms Suu Kyi’s attitude to what state television referred to as “preconditions”. It said: “Senior General Than Shwe said during his meeting with Mr Gambari that Madame Aung San Suu Kyi has been promoting four things - confrontation, utter devastation, economic sanctions on Myanmar [Burma], and other sanctions. If she abandons these calls, Senior General Than Shwe told Mr Gambari that he will personally meet Madame Aung San Suu Kyi.”

Yesterday Myint Ngwe Mon, a locally recruited employee of the UN Development Programme, was released with her husband, brother-in-law and driver. They had been arrested late on Wednesday from their home east of the Shwedagon pagoda in Rangoon.

Three other Burmese UN employees or their family members were freed on Wednesday, as well as a man working for the Japanese Embassy. Foreign diplomats said they believed that there was no focused attempt to single out those who were working for foreign organisations.

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