Agence France Presse

Yangon, April 3:

A retired Myanmar army officer attached to Yangon’s embassy in Washington has absconded with his family in what the military junta described as a “betrayal to the state”, official media reported today.

“U Aung Lin Htut, a retired major attached to the Myanmar embassy in Washington ... absconded with his wife Daw Tin Lay Nwe, one son and two daughters and a maid, in an act of betrayal to the state on 1 April,” the New Light of Myanmar reported.

The daughter had been summoned to appear in court in connection with a debt settlement for a lease of a commercial building, according to the paper. No further details were given.

A retired foreign ministry source said that Aung Lin Htut had a military intelligence background and was likely handpicked for his job in Washington by officials close to then prime minister Khin Nyunt, who headed up military intelligence for decades. One of the functions of military intelligence officers assigned overseas was to monitor the movements of

pro-democracy activists and Myanmar exiles, the source said.

Khin Nyunt was sacked from his post last year and placed under house arrest, and the junta this year launched a major reshuffle of staff at its missions around the world, the source said.

Suu Kyi issue sidelined

MANILA: A Philippine-led move to pressure Myanmar to free Aung San Suu Kyi was sidelined on Sunday by Asian legislators attending the Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting here. Parliamentarians from the 10-nation ASEAN met with their counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea to discuss a host of issues they would be presenting to the IPU for debate.— AFP