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YANGON, Myanmar-Myanmar's military government stepped up its propaganda campaign against the United States, accusing Washington of inciting last month's pro-democracy demonstrations in hopes of installing a puppet government. Demonstrations that began August 19 over high prices for fuel and consumer goods grew into a broad-based movement for democratic reform that attracted tens of thousands of people in Yangon, the country's biggest city.Troops crushed the protests by shooting at demonstrators on September 26-27 and arresting almost 3,000 protesters, including Buddhist monks. The government said 10 people were killed, but dissident groups put the toll at up to 200 and say thousands more people were arrested."Recent protests in the country were created by the loudmouthed bully, using the exiled dissidents and traitors together with communists, internal and external anti-government destructionists," said a commentary Sunday in the Myanmar-language Myanma Ahlin daily.Myanmar state-media commonly uses the phrase "loudmouthed bully" without naming the nation it is referring to, but in a context that clearly points to the United States.On Monday, meanwhile, the French foreign minister said sanctions against Myanmar's junta for cracking down on democracy protesters should be coupled with incentives to encourage a better response from the regime. The minister suggested an an international fund for development.
The European Union and the United States have pressed for expanded sanctions against Myanmar in recent weeks, after the junta arrested thousands of people following pro-democracy protests, shooting dead at least 10."Do we believe that (the sanctions) will be enough? No. Will it be useful? I hope so," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said before meeting with officials in Singapore."But we also have to work on the political offer, and on incentives for the Burmese people to be part of." Myanmar is also known as Burma.As an incentive for the regime to work for national reconciliation in Myanmar, an international trust fund could be set up for development projects, Kouchner said.Kouchner noted the European Union earlier this month agreed to expand sanctions against Myanmar, banning imports of timber, gemstones and precious metals in response to the junta's crackdown on pro-democracy groups. The EU is holding off applying them to give U.N. mediators more time to sway the military leaders to start talks with pro-democracy groups.The French minister's Singapore visit coincides with one by the U.N.'s special envoy on Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, at the end of his six-nation Asian tour to drum up international pressure on Myanmar to end its crackdown. Gambari met Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo and they had "a good exchange of views on the Myanmar situation," a Foreign Ministry statement said.Gambari and Kouchner also met Monday afternoon, but no details of the discussions were immediately available.Speaking to the Foreign Correspondents Association in Singapore, Kouchner said the international trust fund, which he envisaged as being overseen by the World Bank and the U.N., would provide "micro-credit at the level of the state" to create opportunities for the development of Myanmar's trade and industry, among other projects.Kouchner cited as an example the World Bank trust fund that was set up in 2000 for war-devastated Kosovo, where he worked as chief U.N. administrator to coordinate reconstruction and peace efforts.He did not give a target sum for a Myanmar fund, but said British Foreign Minister David Miliband was also in favor of it and they would be seeking the support of the EU, the U.S., Japan, and Southeast Asian countries.
As in the days of Noah...
