Junta blames political opportunists for crisis

Burma's foreign minister Nyan Win said his regime had laid down a roadmap for democracy and worked contin¬uously to achieve the goal despite efforts by outside ele¬ments to derail the process.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, he said the junta's security forces had exercised utmost restraint and they did not intervene for nearly a month.

They declared a curfew only when the mob become unruly and provocative, he said.

"Subsequently, when the protesters ignored the warn¬ings, they [the junta] had to take action to restore the situa¬tion. Normalcy has now returned to Myanmar [Burma], " Nyan Win told the assembly.

The Burmese junta earlier admitted that its troops killed nine people, including a Japanese journalist, but out¬siders and dissidents said the number of casualties was much higher.

The bloodshed in Rangoon and other major cities has caused international outrage. The United States imposed fur¬ther sanctions on the military regime, and Asean issued a strong statement urging the junta to stop the crackdown and resume the process of political reconciliation.

The UN dispatched its spe¬cial envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, to talk to all parties in the country to end the conflict.

The situation in Burma dominated many rounds of dis¬cussions at the United Nations.

Foreign Minister Niyta Pibulsonggram also discussed Burma with Richard Holbrook, adviser to Hillary Clinton's elec¬tion campaign, on the sidelines of the UN assembly on Monday.

"The key to getting the Burmese generals to behave better is to put international pressure on them, and that requires Asean, India, China, the United States and Russia," said Holbrook, a close associate of Nitya.

He also praised the actions taken by Asean.

Nitya is also scheduled to meet US undersecretary of state Nicholas Burn to discuss Burma and Thailand's role in bringing about a peaceful solu¬tion.

Nyan Win told the UN his country was under threat from "neocolonialists" who had used a media campaign, sanctions and provided political influ¬ence, as well as financial and material support to create unrest in the country.

"The current events clearly show that such a course of action can only result in conflict and untold suffering for the people of the country," he said.

The junta was fully aware of its responsibility to steer the country toward disciplined democracy, he said.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation