Some NLD members are voicing cautious optimism about negotiations between the Burmese junta and Aung San Suu Kyi, following the third meeting in three months between her and the junta’s liaison officer, Aung Kyi, on Wednesday.State-run media on Thursday reported that they met in the regime’s Seinle Kantha Guesthouse for 45 minutes, from 1:05 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.

No official details of the meeting were made available. However, senior National League for Democracy (NLD) members told The Irrawaddy that the meeting probably was in response to Suu Kyi’s Nov. 11 letter to Snr-Gen Than Shwe.

NLD spokesman Khin Maung Swe said, “The topic of the meeting might be related to economic sanctions, which she mentioned in her letter, and it shows that the government is still willing to talk with her.”

Suu Kyi sent letters to the junta leader in September and November. In both letters, she said she wanted to cooperate with the junta in working toward the lifting of international economic sanctions against Burma. In the November letter, she also requested to meet with Than Shwe.

The meeting on Wednesday came as somewhat of a surprise, following a recent commentary article in state-run newspapers that criticized Suu Kyi and the NLD for providing details about her two letters to the media, describing it as “dishonesty.”

The newspaper commentary said that Suu Kyi and the NLD used “the media as a tool in an insincere way.”

“It is acceptable that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi sent a letter to the Head of State. However, they should not have passed the buck to the government after disclosing the letter to the media with an ulterior motive,” said the article.

Khin Maung Swe said the media regularly runs stories critical of  Suu Kyi and the NLD, and the criticism should be put in perspective.

“We can say there could be some parties on both sides who do not want to see a positive dialogue,” he said. “Hard-liners and soft-liners could be in both camps. Those people who oppose dialogue write these kind of articles.”

It’s not surprising that the military regime and the NLD reflect different perspectives about the same events.

While transparency and accountability to the public is an important value for pro-democracy groups, the generals in Naypyidaw prefer secrecy and confidentiality as the first priority. As a result, he said, the generals might see any public announcements by the opposition as “insincere.”

Such views are reflected in the recent commentary article, where it said:  “It should be taken into consideration that the attempt of one side to force the other into a corner by making dishonest use of the media might delay the other side’s response.”

Regardless of the commentary, relations between the junta and the NLD seem to be improving somewhat following Suu Kyi’s offer to cooperate on removing sanctions.

NLD sources noted that, in spite of some difficulties, the authorities allowed an NLD divisional level meeting in Monywa in Sagaing Division to take place in November, at the same time an application for reopening a party office in Rangoon Division was being considered by the government.

Also, the NLD relief committee for Cyclone Nargis recently completed a trip to the Irrawaddy delta, since the two-month detention in 2008 of committee head Ohn Kyaing.

Ohn Kyaing told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday: “During previous trips to the delta, all the guest houses there would not accept our team because of  restrictions by the authorities. On this trip, we stayed at guest houses.”

On Thursday, the NLD marked the 61st Human Rights Day at its party headquarter in Rangoon with a public talk on human rights issues in the country chaired by Win Tin, a prominent NLD executive committee member.

However, some political observers inside Burma still voiced skepticism about any real progress being made in Suu Kyi’s overtures to the junta.

“I won’t get excited about U Aung Kyi meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi until I see a  genuine outcome,” said Aye Thar Aung, an Arakanese leader who is secretary of the opposition umbrella group, the Committee Representing People’s Parliament. “For any real change in Burma, there are many more steps that need to be taken.”