There have been unconfirmed reports of Burmese Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt being sacked and arrested. This has sparked off concern for the nation's future.

International media reports, quoting the Thai government, stated that the premier who came into power last year is now under house arrest.

It is said that Senior General Than Shwe, who heads the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), was behind the move.

However, there has yet to be any official confirmation regarding the arrest by the Burmese government while the phone lines at its Kuala Lumpur embassy have been busy for several hours.

Khin Nyunt is regarded as a pragmatic and reform minded leader in the military government.

Last month there was a reshuffling of the cabinet including the firing of Foreign Minister U Win Aung, with replacement coming in the form of military 'hardliners'.

There has also been tremendous external pressure on both the former foreign minister and prime minister to release pro-democracy and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and allow her to participate in Khin Nyunt's national democracy convention which has since been postponed.

Cause for concern

Local opposition parliamentarian Teresa Kok, who is the secretary of the Malaysian parliamentary caucus on Burma said if the news is true, then it would isolate Burma even further from the international community.

"I don't know where Burma will head now if Khin Nyunt, who I'm told is more reform minded, is sacked. This is indeed very sad to hear," she said when contacted.

The caucus consists both of opposition and government parliamentarians and according to Kok, has the support of more than 50 MPs in its efforts to promote democracy in Burma.

An activist, who has been rallying the cause in Burma for 16 years, said if the reports are true then the move is in line with the rise of the 'hardliners trend'.

This, the activist added, will instill more strength to the already powerful non-reformist Than Shwe.

Purging pragmatists

"The hardliners have used a range of strategies including the roadmap to democracy as a way to buy time to consolidate their development," said Debbie Stothard head of Altsean Burma, an international non government organisation championing for democracy in the land.

"If true, the move to sack Khin Nyunt is consistent with Than Shwe's trend of purging the pragmatists from within the junta,' she added.

She said this would be cause for concern as Than Shwe's power-struggle has drawn a confrontational line within the regime and even the international community.

Having ruled the country since 1962, the military has refused to relinquish power even after Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Suu Kyi's political party, the National League for Democracy was voted into power during the 1990 elections.