UN human rights envoy arrives in Myanmar on post-unrest evaluation visit

YANGON, Myanmar - A United Nations human rights expert has arrived in Myanmar on his first mission since serious ethnic strife shook a western area in June.

Tomas Ojea Quintana arrived Sunday night for a one-week evaluation visit during which he will meet government officials, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, civil society representatives and others concerned with human rights.

He is expected to visit Yangon's notorious Insein prison and travel to northwestern Rakhine state where at least 78 people were killed in communal violence involving a Muslim minority.

Quintana's evaluation is likely to be regarded as a yardstick for measuring reforms undertaken by elected President Thein Sein after decades of repressive military rule.