What happened in Burma, 8-9 October?

It's 00:00 in Bangkok (23:30 in Rangoon)

The main news of the day out of Burma is that Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy opposition leader under house arrest, turned down a proposal to meet with the government because she could not agree to the preconditions. She said: "The success of a dialogue is based on sincerity and the spirit of give and take. The will for achieving success is also crucial and there should not be any preconditions."

Senior Gen. Than Shwe had demanded that San Suu Kyi renounce her call for international sanctions against Myanmar’s government, as one precondition. (AFP) The party of Burma's detained opposition leader had urged the military junta not to set preconditions.

The man chosen by the Burmese government to liaise with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is a moderate general with a good track record of dealing with UN agencies, analysts said Tuesday. (AFP)

International Developments

- The European Union and United States want to pressure Burma's junta with the threat of sanctions. But China once again voiced its opposition. A foreign ministry spokesman told a news conference in Beijing that "sanctions or pressure will not help to solve the issue", according to The Guardian.

- In Singapore -- which does not permit gatherings of more than five people without a permit -- a group of a half-dozen demonstrators was arrested outside the presidential palace when they tried to protest the nation’s extensive trade ties with Burma’s junta. Singapore had issued unusually harsh statements against the crackdown in Burma, but critics see Singapore as more interested in protecting its investments in (AFP)