YANGON (AFP) — Myanmar's military junta Tuesday shrugged off international steps to punish the regime for its bloody crackdown on protests, even as Japan cut aid and European nations widened sanctions.
State media reported that the military government was still holding nearly 500 people in detention nationwide following pro-democracy demonstrations that led to the death of at least 13 people, including a Japanese journalist.
The junta also criticised a UN Security Council statement condemning violence used by the army in late September to crush the biggest anti-government protests seen here in nearly two decades.
The response came amid growing international pressure on the regime to halt its repression and launch talks with the pro-democracy opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
Of the 500 still held, about 190 were detained in Yangon, Myanmar's main city and the scene of the biggest demonstrations, state television said.
Myanmar also disclosed that the number of people officially arrested during the protests had risen significantly to nearly 3,000, compared to 2,100 reported previously.
Japan, one of Myanmar's main donors, said Tuesday it was cancelling grants of about 4.7 million dollars over the fatal shooting of the Japanese journalist when security forces put down last month's huge protests.
The chief of French oil group Total, meanwhile, reiterated that it will make no new investments in Myanmar, but that it will not withdraw from the country.
On Monday, European Union foreign ministers approved a new set of sanctions against the junta including an embargo on the export of wood, gems and metals, and threatened further penalties.
US President George W. Bush, whose country has imposed targeted sanctions against junta leaders, called for "enormous international pressure, to make it clear to the generals that they will be completely isolated and not accepted into the international community."
But Myanmar vowed to resist. "We will march on. There is no reason to change the course," the official New Light of Myanmar daily said.
The newspaper also criticised last week's Security Council statement deploring the crackdown and calling for the release of political prisoners.
"The situation in Myanmar does not constitute a threat to regional and international peace and security," it said.
"In reality, there is no one in Myanmar who is in prison for political reasons. There are only those against whom action has been taken in violation of the existing laws."
Last month's protests led by Buddhist monks drew up to 100,000 people onto the streets in what escalated into the most potent threat to the regime since student-led demonstrations were crushed in 1988.
But they were violently broken up by troops and riot police.
The United Nations sent trouble-shooter Ibrahim Gambari to Myanmar after the crackdown to meet junta chief Than Shwe and Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest in Yangon.
Gambari returned to the region Monday for a multi-nation tour aimed at building pressure on the regime, saying in Bangkok that reports of further arrests of activists were "extremely disturbing."
He travelled on Tuesday to Malaysia, where he said he planned to pass on a message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on how neighbouring countries and the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) could help ease the crisis.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said ASEAN could help foster dialogue between Myanmar and the United Nations, but warned the regional bloc would not suspend the country's membership.
"If you want Myanmar to continue to be engaged, first we should not be talking about suspending. Nobody can talk when you are threatening with all sorts of things," he told reporters.
Myanmar dissidents, meanwhile, urged the UN Security Council in a letter to slap an arms embargo and other sanctions on their country's ruling junta, and to demand an immediate end to repression and detentions of political prisoners.
After leaving Malaysia, Gambari is set to fly on to Indonesia, India, China and Japan. He has said he aims to return to Myanmar by mid-November but hopes the junta will allow him to visit sooner.
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