Japan to aid Myanmar: Report

Japan to aid Myanmar: Report

BANGKOK (AP): Japan will give $28.6 million in aid to Myanmar to reward its military rulers for starting reconciliation talks with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the International Herald Tribune reported on Wednesday on its website.

The report said the grant is the biggest since the junta took power in 1988 after a bloody crackdown on a massive democracy uprising. It breaks a long-standing informal ban on bilateral assistance to Myanmar, also known as Burma.

However, the grant was approved in consultation with the United Nations and the United States, said the Paris-based newspaper, which is published jointly by The New York Times and The Washington Post.

The Tribune report quoted unidentified sources as saying that the 3.5 billion yen ($28.6 million) aid will be used for reconstruction of turbines in a hydropower dam in eastern Myanmar.