Burma's junta attacks BBC

Burma‘s military government today accused dissidents and foreign media, including the BBC, of trying to stir up unrest with reports about the country‘s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who completes one month in detention on Monday.

The state-run Kyemon newspaper said in a commentary that foreign media have made “slanderous accusations” against the government by “taking advantage of the incidents of May 30” – the day Suu Kyi and many of her supporters were detained in a crackdown in northern Burma.

The junta has shown no sign of relenting, despite international outrage and demands for her release.

Dissidents say Suu Kyi was arrested after a pro-junta mob attacked her motorcade while she was on a political tour, killing up to 70 people.

The government claims the motorcade tried to drive through a group of anti-Suu Kyi demonstrators, triggering a clash that left four people dead.

The Kyemon, or Mirror, accused Burma‘s ethnic Karen rebels, the BBC, the Voice of America and the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma of spreading disinformation.

The junta’s version of the incident – including its claim that Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi is under detention to protect her from unidentified assassins – has drawn wide scepticism or outright ridicule from many observers and governments.

The Kyemon said foreign media accounts were meant “to instigate unrest, create anarchy, bring down a military government and install the government that would listen to the dictates of colonialists.”

It criticised foreign media for not accepting the assurances of United Nations envoy Razali Ismail, who met with Suu Kyi earlier this month and confirmed she was unhurt.

“They are not worried about the well being of (Suu Kyi), but are looking for a reason to point fingers and put the blame on the government,” it said.

The commentary did not mention Razali’s expressions of deep worry about Suu Kyi’s continued detention.

The government came under renewed criticism last week after a British government minister said Suu Kyi was being held at the notorious Insein prison near the capital, Yangon.

The government has denied that she is there, but refuses to disclose her location.

The detention has halted a reconciliation effort between the junta and Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party. Razali started the attempt in October 2000 in a bid to end Burma’s political deadlock.

The junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy movement. It called elections in 1990, but refused to hand over power when the NLD won.