Thwarted. That must be how Senior-General Than Shwe is feeling this week in Rangoon. Despite his refusal to speak on the matter, the dear general must have been eagerly looking forward to presiding over his Asean colleagues at key meetings in Rangoon, but this was not to be.

In the past year the domestic media hyped up preparations for the Asean chair. Despite the shrinking economy, projects to upgrade hotels, meeting facilities and Rangoon's notorious roads were started.

In April, even as Asean foreign ministers were publicly admitting that the Burma chair was a bad idea, it was declared that preparations for the Burma chairmanship were "on course".