Headlines

The NewsFuror

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Burmese junta appoints go-between



Burma's military rulers have appointed an official to liaise with detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an apparent concession to the UN.

Aung Kyi, a retired general currently serving as deputy labour minister, was appointed to "continue relations [with her] in the future", state TV said.

The appointment of a go-between was an issue raised by a UN envoy visiting after September's bloody crackdown.

A BBC correspondent has heard fresh accounts of the military's brutality.

Our correspondent, who spent three days undercover in Rangoon and met two fugitive monks, heard in one neighbourhood that the army had disposed of the bodies of monks killed during the crackdown by burning them in the local crematorium.

The military government is also reported to be holding monks in disused municipal buildings and even those who applauded the monks during their demonstrations are being hunted down.

The atmosphere in Burma's main city is tense and fearful, our correspondent adds.

Military demands

Monday's TV announcement did not say when contacts with Ms Suu Kyi might begin.

The UN's Ibrahim Gambari suggested appointing a liaison officer when he met Burma's military leader, Gen Than Shwe, last week.

Gen Shwe later said he was ready to meet Ms Suu Kyi if she dropped her support for international sanctions and abandoned what he said was her confrontational attitude.

Previous attempts to build dialogue between the military and Aung San Suu Kyi have come to nothing.

Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the past 18 years.

No comments: