Than Shwe Blamed for Monk Killings: Wikileaks

According to a recent dispatch by Wikileaks, two cables from the US embassy in Rangoon accuse Burma's junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe of ordering troops to crack down on Buddhist monks during the mass demonstrations in September 2007; and refusing to allow the army to respond to the Cyclone Nargis disaster.

The first cable, dated Nov. 28, 2007, and signed by former US Chargé d'Affaires Shari Villarosa, was published in a leading Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten, on Feb 4. In it, Villarosa attributed information to military sources who said: “Both Than Shwe and Maung Aye gave the orders to crackdown on the monks, including shooting them if necessary.”

The cable added that junta No.3 ex-Gen Shwe Mann, the new Lower House Speaker, disagreed with the decision, but carried it out, “quietly advising regional commanders to do so with minimal bloodshed.”--Full story at The Irrawaddy