Malaysia's foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, said General Than Shwe should drop any conditions on talks with Aung San Suu Kyi if Burma was to avoid a range of punitive sanctions being urged by the US and EU following the junta's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. "Myanmar [Burma] has no choice but to move towards democracy," he said.
The strong words that spoke for all Burma's neighbours in the Association of South East Asian Nations came as the UN security council prepared to debate a draft resolution today condemning the repression that left at least 13 dead.
However Burma's regime continued a round-up of those suspected of joining the so-called saffron revolution, when monks led up to 100,000 protesters through Rangoon's streets.
The government newspaper, New Light of Myanmar, said a further 78 people were seized in raids, but claimed 1,215 of the 2,093 detained earlier had been released.
