Myanmar regime officials in Moscow for military cooperation talks

Representative of Myanmar's military junta, which four weeks ago brutally cracked down on pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks, are in Moscow for talks on cooperation with Russian security services, reports said Sunday. The week-long talks will be specifically focussed on a proposed programme to have Myanmar officers trained in Russian military facilities, news agency Interfax cited Russian Ground Forces spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying. Russia as a veto power in the UN Security Council has rejected tightening of sanctions on the junta over its suppression of democracy, and has in the past supplied the regime with military equipment including combat jets and helicopters. Myanmar's military and police had on Friday staged a march in the country's capital Yangon, assembling particularly around the area where last month's monk-led protests took place. The street demonstrations led by the monks in September and the subsequent crackdown by the ruling military junta led to 10 deaths, the government said. Independent observers claimed the number of victims was much higher. dpa mau ch ds