Junta must prove it has withdrawn: UN

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday called on Myanmar's powerful generals to prove that a new civilian government is a "genuine" end of five decades of military rule, his spokesman said. The authorities announced on Wednesday that the ruling junta's State Peace and Development Council had been dissolved. It is replaced by a nominally civilian government which many analysts said is controlled by the generals. "The Myanmar authorities now have an opportunity and, indeed, an obligation to their people, to demonstrate that this change is one of substance and that it is the start of a genuine move away from almost fifty years of direct military rule," Ban was quoted as saying by his spokesman Martin Nesirky. Ban made a new call for "inclusive dialogue" on broad political and economic reforms and said the government must answer "the longstanding aspirations of the Myanmar people for national reconciliation, democratization and respect for human rights remains."—AFP