Burmese hopes for political change have in recent years been raised and dashed repeatedly as the country’s ruling generals have spurned international efforts to nudge them into a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate and pro-democracy leader.

In May 2002, for example, Ms Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest following a UN-mediated process raised expectations that the generals were finally poised for talks with her about an end to their decades-long monopoly on power.