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Burma: all eyes on the man from the UN

Will the special envoy find there’s been a split in the ruling junta? edward loxton reports

Reports of a split in Burma's ruling junta and a possible mutiny by troops in support of pro-democracy demonstrators continued to circulate in Burmese exile circles today, as the spotlight fell on urgent efforts by a UN special envoy to end the crisis.

The visit to Rangoon and Burma's new capital, Naypyidaw, by the UN Secretary-General's special rapporteur on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, scheduled for today, will hopefully throw light on what is really happening in the country's corridors of power.

Foreign diplomats and other observers are impatiently awaiting the first official reports on Gambari's meetings with Burmese junta leaders. If the name of the junta supremo, Gen Than Shwe, is not on the list, then the reports of a shake-up at the top will be confirmed.

Well-sourced reports on Friday said Than

Gambari’s visit will hopefully throw light on what is really happening in Burma’s corridors of power

Shwe had been deposed by his deputy, Gen Maung Aye, commander in chief of the armed forces. Maung Aye has proved himself in past dealings with dissenters to be as hardline as Than Shwe. But unlike the eccentric and unpredictable Than Shwe, who relies more on soothsayers than on reason in ruling Burma, Maung Aye is a pragmatist and reported to be interested in forging a political solution that could involve the country's opposition.

In Rangoon and Mandalay, protesters were expected to take again to the streets this afternoon. Monks have been noticeably absent from the demonstrations since troops sealed off monasteries in the two cities and arrested hundreds in night-time raids.

Despite a nationwide clampdown on communications, some Burmese are able to call abroad. "Where is the US, where is the West, when we desperately need them?" said one woman, weeping as she called the Thai-based Irrawaddy news service.

Burma is closed to foreign reporters. Edward Loxton is reporting for The First Post from Chiang Mai in neighbouring Thailand, talking to eyewitnesses in Rangoon by telephone.

FIRST POSTED SEPTEMBER 29, 2007

News & Comment: News & Politics