YANGON, MYANMAR — Myanmar’s military junta acknowledged today that it detained nearly 3,000 people during a crackdown on recent pro-democracy protests, with hundreds still remaining in custody.
The official statement in The New Light of Myanmar, a government mouthpiece, said authorities were still hunting for demonstrators who took part in the uprising.
The statement said that 2,927 people had been arrested since the crackdown started and nearly 500 were still in custody.
Everyone released from custody was required to sign “pledges,” the statement said, without elaborating.
The announcement came a day after Japan canceled a multimillion-dollar grant to protest the bloody crackdown and U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari pressed Asian nations Tuesday to take the lead in resolving the crisis.
China, which has been uncooperative in past efforts to pressure Myanmar’s military rulers, said it supported Gambari’s mission. As Myanmar’s closest ally and a permanent member of the Security Council, China is considered key in pushing for change in the Southeast Asian nation.
Japan had already said it would suspend some assistance in response to the death of Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai, among at least 10 people killed when troops fired into crowds of peaceful protesters during the Sept. 26-27 crackdown. Video footage of Nagai’s death appeared to show a soldier shooting the journalist at close range on the streets of Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city.
In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Tuesday that the government was canceling a grant worth $4.7 million for a business education center slated for the Yangon University campus.
