September Protests are Insignificant, says Burmese Minister

Source: Radio Free Asia

General Kyaw San, Minister of Information & Communication, said Monday that compared to the entire population of Burma, the number of people who took to the streets in August and September was insignificant.

At the news conference held in Naypyidaw, the new administrative capital of Burma, General Kyaw San pronounced the protest leaders as fake monks who were instigated by overseas dissident groups and foreign interference. He added that the government has reliable evidence to believe that these fake monks were ex-convicts who were influenced by dissident groups, and that the government had managed to take control of the situation before they could convince the public to take part.

He also told reporters that the government was going ahead with the 7-step democracy roadmap, and it will accept neither advice or help from any other organization.

Liaison Minister, Aung Kyi, told reporters that the meetings with Daw Aung San Su Kyi, the opposition leader who has been under house arrest for 12 years, showed promise, without elaborating further.

At the same conference, Chief of Police, General Khin Yi, said that the protestors aimed to topple the government. He accused a group, Forum for Democracy in Burma, of forming an alliance with dissident groups to incite the public to carry out protests. He also alleged that political activists were carrying out anti-government activities at the US embassy in Rangoon. He maintained that only 10 people were killed during the crackdown.

For the original article in Burmese, please follow this link: http://www.rfa.org/burmese/news/2007/12/03/news_conference_held_in_naypyidaw/