It is almost too nice to be true. A few days after its bloody crackdown on the peaceful pro-democratic protests, Myanmar’s military junta is showing willingness to talk to the pro-democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Is General Than Shwe offering a genuine dialogue? Hardly so! The arrests are still continuing at night. Thousands of opposition members have been imprisoned, many monasteries are empty -- the monks have either been killed or have disappeared. Eye-witnesses report the most terrible incidents, and the international community can only guess the real extent of the crackdown.

No change

There have been no signs that the junta has taken Gambari’s suggestions on board. General Than Shwe is paying lip service to the idea of holding talks with the opposition.

But in return, Aung San Suu Kyi has to abandon her confrontational attitude which has been leading to the country’s destruction, according to the generals.

A statement of this kind turns the whole situation upside down. The generals are responsible for destroying Myanmar because they have been suppressing the people and isolating the country from the rest of the world for decades.

Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. It is obvious that neither she nor her colleagues can accept such conditions.

No trust

The offer turns out to be part of the propaganda. The Burmese state-controlled media have described Gambari’s visit as a "courtesy visit". That is, of course, not true. The generals will have to expect sanctions. To claim that UN envoy Gambari paid a "courtesy visit" to Myanmar in the view of recent events, is nothing short of ridiculous.

Imposing such conditions proves that the junta is far removed from reality. They are trying to appease international criticism with empty words, but in reality, they do not want to change anything. The Burmese people are being suppressed, on the one hand, and taken for fools, on the other. Members of the pro-democratic opposition are being defamed and arrested.

Despite absolute censorship, there is hardly anyone who trusts the generals in Myanmar now. In the West, the mistrust is even worse -- because everyone has seen the pictures of the brutal military crackdown on the monks’ peaceful protests. Obviously, the generals do not want to let go of power. It is high time to increase the pressure.