Western states dismiss Burma's election

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JAKARTA: Employees preparing their clothes stall as they wait for customers at a shopping centre here Monday. Indonesia's economic growth surprisingly picked up in the second quarter of this year, signalling that Southeast Asia remains resilient to the gl

Western powers have dismissed Burma's first general election for two decades, describing it as neither free nor fair, reports BBC.
US President Barack Obama said Sunday's poll had not met "internationally accepted standards". EU governments have also criticised the election.
Early official results show successes for parties linked to the military. The main opposition NLD boycotted the vote.
Meanwhile, deadly clashes near the Thai border sparked fears the poll could re-ignite conflicts with ethnic militias.
Three people were reported killed in or near the town of Myawaddy, where a Karen rebel faction was reported to be clashing with government troops. There were also reports of grenade fire over the border into Thailand.
A Japanese journalist was reportedly being held in Myawaddy on suspicion of illegal entry. Foreign journalists and monitors have not been allowed into Burma.
In a joint statement, the US and Australia criticised the polls and called for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
"Australia and the United States underlined their deep regret that the Burmese authorities failed to hold free, fair and genuinely inclusive elections," said the statement issued by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates after talks with Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Defence Minister Stephen Smith in Melbourne.
The statement urged the government to ensure that post-election institutions were "transparent, accountable and responsive to their citizens' aspirations".
Some voters told the BBC they could not vote in private, while opposition groups alleged that many state employees had been pressured to vote in advance for the main pro-military party. Reports from Burma's largest city, Rangoon, suggest turnout was low.
Burmese voters last got a chance to cast their ballots in 1990, when they overwhelmingly backed the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
But the ruling generals never allowed the NLD to take power and detained Ms Suu Kyi.
Local media Monday claims the election was a successful, smoothly-run process.
Meanwhile Reuters adds: Myanmar's military will keep its grip on power after the country's first election in 20 years through parties that emerged Monday as the likely winners of a vote marred by fraud, and condemned by Washington and London.
Complex rules for Sunday's election thwarted any chance of a pro-democracy upset as Myanmar ends half a century of direct army rule.