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Official cars arrived at her home, where she has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years, around 2 pm and took her to the Sein Le Kantha guest house to meet with retired general U Aung Kyi, according to sources who requested anonymity.

Aung Kyi is the country's labour minister, recently appointed to be a liaison with the democracy leader after the junta bent to pressure from the United Nations to ease tensions following a brutal crackdown on street protests last month.

It was unclear whether the unusual meeting represented a breakthrough toward negotiations to ease military rule, or if the junta was merely paying lip service to international calls for leniency for Suu Kyi.

She has been under house arrest for three separate periods: from 1989 to 1995, from 2000 to 2002 and from May 2003 until now. Her father was a hero of the independence struggle against Britain and was the country's first prime minister before being assassinated in 1947.

Thursday also marked the end of her 12th year of detention, and was accompanied by protests in several world capitals and growing diplomatic pressure for her release and a transition to democracy.

Burma's top generals rule the pariah state with an iron fist, and are said to have personal loathing for the dissident Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take over the government.

Street demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in September ended in a brutal crackdown and the arrest of several hundred monks and civilians. The government said 10 people had died in the unrest, but independent observers claimed the number of victims was much higher.

Burma's religious affairs minister also met with senior monks of the country's Buddhist orthodoxy Thursday to explain the crackdown on the protests, and said the arrests of some monks were necessary to keep order.//dpa