The United Nations Special Envoy to Burma is to return to the country this week, as concerns grow as to whether the initiative can yield tangible results.

According to the U.N. Gambari is due to arrive in Burma on Thursday March 6th.

Hoping to stay "as long as necessary," he will aim "to consult with a broad range of representatives of Myanmar society, including all the groups which he was not able to see during his last visit," U.N. spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters in New York yesterday.

Gambari's previous trip met with criticism for failing to deliver upon several chief objectives of the mission, including the failure of the Special Envoy to secure a meeting with Senior General Than Shwe or to sit in on talks between opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta's appointed liaison officer.

The recent announcement of a timetable for a constitutional referendum this May and elections in 2010, in conjunction with last week's publication of confrontational laws to oversee the referendum, has fueled speculation that Gambari's mission is all but over.

Gambari's mandate from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calls for the Envoy to engage the junta on political issues, human rights, democracy and in pursuit of an inclusive national reconciliation process.

The U.N. had hoped that the junta's road-map to democracy would provide an opportunity for progress on political development, including the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

With little success to show on these fronts and increasing signs that the junta is prepared to forge ahead with its own unilateral process, Gambari is under considerable pressure to prove the continued relevance of his mission.

The United States has previously stated that the success of Gambari's mission will be judged solely on concrete results.

The junta itself has been critical of Gambari's mission, publicly stating their disappointment that his initial efforts "did not bear fruit" as hoped.

Specifically, Information Minister Brig. Gen. Kyaw San voiced the observation that the only apparent consequences of Gambari's mission were increased sanctions directed at Burma's generals and associates.

Montas added that the details of the upcoming trip are yet to be established. However, as on his previous visits, Gambari's itinerary will largely be at the discretion and approval of Burma's generals.

Originally it was believed that Gambari would not be invited back to the country until mid-April, but following meetings with Chinese officials in Beijing last month Gambari expressed optimism that he would be invited back sooner.

It will be the Special Envoy's third visit to the country since last September's violent crackdown on monk-led protests. His first visit came just as the final protests were being forcefully quelled by Burma's security forces.