<i>Myanmar scene</i>
The Myanmar military junta's disregard for human life was once again demonstrated, as it used noxious force to scatter and threaten peaceful protesters that included Buddhist monks. The news is that nine people were killed; including a Japanese photographer, Kenji Naga, and 11 demonstrators and 31 soldiers were wounded, prompting world leaders and various other international organisations to condemn the rowdy actions by the military junta. US President George W. Bush led the international condemnation. He called on China, Myanmar's top trading partner, to press for the Burmese authorities to stop using force. The US also imposed economic sanctions on 14 identified Burmese government officials. As a neighbour, China is awfully worried about the situation in Myanmar. China hopes that all the parties will exercise restraint and properly handle the existing issue, so as to make sure that the situation there does not worsen further. Meanwhile, embarrassed by the developments in Myanmar, the ASEAN foreign ministers who are in New York for a meeting took the Myanmar representative to task over. The protest against the military junta is the biggest since the nation-wide pro-democracy uprising in 1988 led by students, which ended in bloodshed as the military killed as many as 3,000 protesters. The authorities have issued a night-time curfew and a ban on public gatherings of more than five people, measures which will be enforced for 60 days. We hope the crisis will soon be resolved.
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