Troops Reportedly Harass Envoys in Myanmar Capital

Myanmar is harassing foreign diplomats by sending soldiers into the compounds of Western embassies and by rounding up the missions’ local employees for interrogation, a diplomat said Thursday.

Troops entered the West German Embassy compound 10 days ago and previously did so at the U.S. and British embassies, he said.

The State Department confirmed Thursday that Myanmar detained and interrogated four local employees of the U.S. Embassy about mission operations and personnel.

“We regard such harassment as a serious contravention of accepted international behavior. . . ,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington.

The diplomat, who spoke at a news conference in Bangkok on condition of anonymity, did not say why the troops entered the embassies, or where most of the employees were taken into custody--in their missions or at home.

Western governments have frequently criticized the military rulers of Myanmar, formerly Burma, for refusing to yield to the democratic movement that overwhelmingly won the May 27 election.