UN inspector visits Myanmar

UN inspector visits Myanmar

YANGON (AP): A United Nations inspector of human rights met with Myanmar opposition members on Wednesday and visited a gas pipeline project where activists claim forced labor was used.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the first UN human rights rapporteur to be allowed into the military state in five years, flew to Kanbauk in southern Myanmar to see the pipeline project, said an employee of Premier Oil.

Kanbauk, 300 kilometers southeast of Yangon, is the starting point on the land portion of a gas pipeline that carries natural gas from the offshore rigs in the Andaman Sea to Thailand.

Companies operating there include Premier Oil of Britain, U.S.-based UNOCAL and Total of France.