Myanmar tightens tourist visa rules

Myanmar tightens tourist visa rules

BANGKOK (AP): Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok has increased the
waiting period for tourists to receive visas from about one hour
to at least a week, applicants said yesterday.

Tourists applying for visas were told that since Aug. 13 the
process would take at least a week, and that on the seventh day
applicants must return for an interview.

The moves are believed to be a reaction to 18 foreign
activists who entered Myanmar on tourist visas earlier this month
and were arrested for handing out democracy leaflets. They were
sentenced to five years in prison, but deported the next day.

The government also deported two journalists this week who
entered Myanmar on tourist visas. Journalists are required to
apply for special visas to work in the country, but the
government has approved almost none in recent months.