Pressure is building up against the Burmese junta in the wake of the murderous May 30 attack.

During July – September 2003, the regime known as the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) continued to detain the leaders of the NLD (National League for Democracy) as well as scores of more pro-democracy activists.

The most significant development has been the US government’s sanctions that banned Burmese imports and the provision of financial services to Burma. The tensions within the SPDC that have quietly built up during the banking crisis, continue as a consequence of Sr-Gen Than Shwe’s internal coup a.k.a. ‘the reshuffle’ and the sanctions’ impact on personal business interests.

Barely a month after the US sanctions were declared, a reshuffle took place within the SPDC, ‘promoting’ Gen. Khin Nyunt, considered a moderate, to Prime Minister, to serve as the public relations face of the regime. Two days later, he introduced a 7-point roadmap – essentially a reformatting of excuses previously deployed to justify failure to convene parliament – to placate the international community.