Myanmar dictator General Than Shwe was recently named as one of the world's worst dictators in by an article in the Foreign Policy journal. Than Shw currently on a high-level visit to India.
The US embassy cable details how the regime was thought to be using football to distract its population from ongoing political and economic problems.
Myanmar has agreed to allow all aid workers to participate in relief efforts for cyclone survivors, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said after meeting leader Than Shwe in Naypyidaw on Friday.
We hope that the government of India will convey to Than Shwe during his visit concerns shared by the international community, said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
India and Myanmar on Monday inked five pacts, including one in the field of security and agreed on close cooperation between security forces of the two countries in tackling the pernicious problem of terrorism.
Contending that Myanmar's pro-democracy icon Aung San Sui Kyi's time "had come and gone," an Indian officer told a United States diplomat in 2004 that democracy in Myanmar could be encouraged only through greater engagement with the ruling military regime.
Myanmar's reclusive and ailing dictator Than Shwe has resigned from his military post, paving the way for him to become the president after this year's general elections.Shwe, the despot who has brutally ruled Southeast Asia's poorest country as commander-in-chief of the armed forces since 1992, on Friday handed control of the army to his adjutant general. More than a dozen other senior military officers also resigned, in an ominous sign for the country's forthcoming election
As the top Burmese General Than Shwe concluded his visit to India, the US has hoped that New Delhi would leverage its good contacts with the military ruler to convince him about the need to address the concerns of the international community on restoration of democracy and protection of human rights of his own people.
Myanmar's notorious dictator General Than Shwe, who is on a five-day official visit to India, met President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday.
The Sri Lankan model, as it is being described now, is finding favour with disparate nations for its apparent effectiveness in totally eliminating the internal security threat. The Sri Lankan tactics are being studied with great interest by security establishments since it did not conform to the well-known and widely practiced counter-insurgency tenets.
Elephants hold a special place in the hearts of Southeast Asians. And if it's a white elephant, it becomes a matter of hope and good fortune.
'China has made rapid advances into Myanmar.... Radars have been reported to have been erected on Myanmar's west coast to monitor Indian missile tests.'
Than Shwe is the first Head of State from Myanmar to visit India in 24 years and this is the first Head of State-Head of Government level interaction in 17 years.
'Ne Win kept good relations with the Nehru family even though he did nothing to do business with India. When Indira Gandhi was assassinated, Ne Win took off to an undisclosed destination, leading to rumours that he had gone to India. But we had no knowledge of his visit and days later, we were told that he was so struck with grief that he went into meditation on an island.' Ambassador T P Sreenivasan delves into Rajiv Bhatia's new book on mysterious Myanmar.
It was the first reasonably free and fair national election held there since 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi's fledgling National League for Democracy won a landslide victory.
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