AP

Posted: 2007-10-17 00:30:58

YANGON, Myanmar  (AP) – Myanmar’s military junta said Wednesday it detained nearly 3,000 people during a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, adding that hundreds remain in custody and that it is still hunting for others.

The official statement from the junta was published on the front-page of The New Light of Myanmar, a government mouthpiece, as a U.N. envoy pressed Asian nations to take the lead in resolving the Myanmar crisis.

“Those who led, got involved in and supported the unrest which broke out in September were called in and are being interrogated,” the junta said in its statement. “Some are still being called in for questioning and those who should be released will be.”

The statement said that 2,927 people had been arrested since the crackdown started and nearly 500 were still in custody.

In their last tally of arrests, released on Oct. 8, the junta said that nearly 2,100 had been arrested.

Everyone released from custody was required to sign “pledges” the statement said, without elaborating.

Protesters freed from custody have said in interviews that they had to sign statements saying they would not take part in protests or support the pro-democracy movement.

The junta has said 10 people were killed when troops fired into crowds of peaceful protesters during the Sept. 26-27 crackdown.

Diplomats and dissidents say they believe the death toll is higher and that up to 6,000 people were seized, including thousands of monks who led the rallies.

Myanmar was under increasing international pressure to call off its crackdown, as Japan canceled a multimillion dollar grant and China threw its weight behind a U.N. envoy’s efforts to ease the crisis.

But ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, said it would not support any sanctions against the military regime.

China – a longtime ally of Myanmar – said it backed U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari’s mission to the region. Gambari is seeking to rally Asian countries to take the lead in pressing Myanmar to reconcile with pro-democracy groups, which have seen hundreds of their members detained and beaten following last month’s protests.