Burma set for human rights visit
Ten people were reported to have died in the protests
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Tuesday, 23, Oct 2007 02:57
Burma has agreed to allow a United Nations human rights inspector to visit following global condemnation of the way the country handled pro-democracy protests last month.
Paolo Sergio Pinheiro, the UN secretary-general's special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar (Burma), has been given permission to visit the south-east Asian country by foreign minister Nyan Win.
Mr Win suggested in a letter to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon that the visit takes place before the summit meeting of Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) on November 17th.
Earlier this month Mr Ban described the Burmese government response to the democracy demonstrations as "abhorrent and unacceptable".
Reports have emerged from the country that ten people died in the crackdown on the protests and thousands of monks have been detained.
"The Myanmar authorities should think about the future of their country and of their people, reflecting and respecting all the wishes of the international community," Mr Ban said last week.
British prime minister Gordon Brown has pledged economic support for Burma if it makes steps towards democracy.
Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy for Myanmar, is to visit Burma next month and has suggested incentives and strong encouragement could aid democratic efforts.