Friday, November 12, 2010

Burma's military "wins" Parliament majority

How does Than Shwe stay in power? He is related to a Chinese government leader and takes care of problems its neighbors would rather not -- like separatists in India.

RANGOON, Burma – Myanmar's pro-junta political party secured a majority of seats in both houses of Parliament, the latest official results from the country's first election in 20 years showed.

The partial batch of results released Thursday confirm the victory of the Union Solidarity and Development Party in Sunday's vote, which critics say was marked by fraud and engineered to sustain the military's power.

The latest results were announced the same day democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi lost an appeal for early release from house arrest. The sentence is due to expire Saturday, and close aides remain optimistic she will be freed.

The junta has not confirmed the 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner will be set free, but government officials have quietly said they are making "necessary security preparations" for this weekend. More>>

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