"This is primarily a visit to start a dialogue with the authorities so we can come back and conduct thorough research there in the future," said an Amnesty spokeswoman, Lesley Warner, but she refused to give many details of the two delegates' 10-day trip. "We can't say before we go there who we are speaking to or what we are going to find."
In its most recent Burma report, published last July, Amnesty claimed torture, murder, forced labour and forcible relocation are still common tactics used by the Burmese military. It said some progress had been made on the human rights front, particularly with the release of several hundred political prisoners including the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but stressed that more needed to be done.
Ms Warner would not discuss Amnesty's attitude towards the legitimacy of Burma's military regimeor the organisation's thinking on the current human rights situation.
However, she sought to reassure the Burmese people that the researchers would not compromise anyone who told them anything. "Amnesty is always extremely careful to protect its sources and monitor situations carefully and has been doing so for over 40 years," she said.
The director of the Burma Campaign UK, John Jackson, welcomed the Amnesty visit but warned that the world should not believe the army rulers are turning over a new leaf as a result.
"Whenever they think the pressure is rising against them in the West the junta will throw out a little nugget of constructiveness or compromise," he said. "But the reality is that the human rights situation is as bad now as it was last year and the year before."
The junta, officially known as the State Peace and Restoration Council, declined to comment on Amnesty's visit.
