Myanmar accuses world powers of aiding 'opportunists'

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UNITED NATIONS, Oct 2 (AFP): Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Win Monday defended his government's crackdown on pro- democracy protesters, blaming the turmoil on "political opportunists" backed by "powerful countries."
Articulating his government's most detailed analysis of the current unrest, he told the UN General Assembly that "political opportunists" backed by "some powerful countries," which he did not name, were stirring the trouble.
"The situation would not have deteriorated had the initial protest of a small group of activists against the rise in fuel prices not been exploited by political opportunists," he told the UN General Assembly here.
He said those "opportunists ... aided and abetted by some powerful countries" also took advantage of protests "staged initially by a small group of Buddhist clergy demanding apology for maltreatment of fellow monks by local authorities."
The minister asserted that Myanmar security forces showed "utmost restraint" and did not intervene for nearly a month.
He said authorities were compelled to declare a curfew "when the mob became unruly and provocative."
"When protestors ignored their warning, they (security forces) had to take action to restore the situation. Normalcy has now returned in Myanmar," he added.
Nyan Win portrayed the turmoil as part of "neo-colonialist attempts" to impose Western-style democracy on Myanmar.
The strategy, he said, involves launching media campaigns and "spreading disinformation that the country concerned is committing gross human rights violations" and portraying these drives as "a fight for democracy."
The next phase, he added, is the imposition of sanctions "which hinder economic development and cause poverty for the people."
The third step involves providing "political, financial and other material support to create unrest in the country," he said.
Finally he added, in an apparent reference to the US-led invasion of Iraq, "under the pretext that a country is undemocratic, unstable and that it poses a threat to international peace and security, they intervene directly and invade the country."