US says Myanmar's human rights record getting worse

March 11, 2008 - Washington (AP-IHT):
Myanmar's already bad human rights record got worse last year, the United States said Tuesday.

Myanmar, also called Burma, committed extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, rape and torture, the State Department said in an annual report on human rights practices around the world.

The report also said that Vietnam's crackdown on dissent has constrained civil society. In Thailand, the report said, the government was working to return to elected government after a 2006 coup and to investigate extrajudicial killings and disappearances.

The report said that unlawful killings in the Philippines "by elements of the security services and political killings, including killings of journalists, by a variety of actors, continued to be a major problem."

The government stepped up efforts to investigate cases, the report said, but "many went unsolved and unpunished. Concerns about impunity persisted."

Myanmar's military-run government killed and arrested pro-democracy protesters in September, drawing international criticism.

The report said that despite promises of dialogue, the government "did not honor its commitment to begin a genuine discussion with the democratic opposition and ethnic minority groups."

Myanmar has been military-ruled since 1962. The current junta seized power in 1988 and refused to honor the results of a 1990 general election won by the opposition.