Opposition and ethnic groups in Burma have urged UN Under Secretary-General Ibrahim Gambari to make them a priority when he visits the country in November.

Han Thar Myint, a spokesperson for the National League for Democracy, said that Gambari should meet all opposition and ethnic groups, including the 88 Generation Students group and veteran Burmese politicians.

“It is not enough for him to meet only with us. He should meet all the democracy groups,” Han Thar Myint said.

Members of the 88 Generation Students and the Zomi National Congress also called on Gambari to include other ethnic leaders and democracy activists in meetings during his visit.

A leader of the 88 Generation Students, known simply as Jimmy, said that while the government considers them an opposition group, he and his colleagues actually believe the government must be involved in any process of national reconciliation.

“By meeting with all of the democracy groups, including ethnic leaders, [Gambari] will have a better understanding of the situation in Burma and can make more informed decisions about it,” Jimmy said.

Gambari is scheduled to make his second trip to Burma from November 9-12. Details of his itinerary in the country have not been disclosed.

During a previous visit in May, Gambari met Snr-Gen Than Shwe and senior members of the NLD-including detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was unexpectedly added to his itinerary.

According to Cin Sain Thang, chairman of the ZNC and a member of the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament, Gambari was just a guest of the regime during his first visit, and only met those people that the government had approved.

He said specifically that Gambari should meet the United National Alliance-comprising nine ethnic political parties that won parliamentary seats in the 1990 election-and detained Shan leader Hkun Htun Oo, currently in Putao Prison in Kachin State.

Cin Saing Thang added that even with democratic reform in Burma, problems among the country’s numerous ethnic minorities will continue.

“During this visit, I want Gambari to meet ethnic groups by any method possible. This is the most important thing,” Cin Sain Thang said.