Myanmar PM ousted, under house arrest

Myanmar's Prime Minister has been ousted and put under house arrest after a lengthy power struggle in which hardliners in the military gover...

Myanmar8217;s Prime Minister has been ousted and put under house arrest after a lengthy power struggle in which hardliners in the military government appear to have come out on top, Thai officials and diplomats said on Tuesday.

Myanmar state television and radio said Khin Nyunt had been 8216;8216;permitted to retire for health reasons8217;8217; and replaced by Lieutenant-General Soe Win, a conservative in his mid-508217;s, considered to be the number 5 figure in the government.

Diplomats said prospects for political change looked dimmer than ever in a country considered a pariah by the West for its detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, and a dismal rights record.

8216;8216;Change has never looked farther off than it is now,8217;8217; a Bangkok-based Western diplomat said.

Myanmar8217;s state media said the retirement had been authorised by Senior General Than Shwe, the head of the Junta, but gave no further details in an announcement which followed the usual pattern after the ouster of a senior figure.

The removal of Khin Nyunt, a relative moderate, was not expected to trigger a wider conflict within the military, but it consolidated the grip of the hawks with the arrival of Soe Win, a trusted Than Shwe deputy.

Thailand said Khin Nyunt 64 was stripped of the Prime Minister8217;s post and placed under house arrest.

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8216;8216;The person who signed the order said Khin Nyunt was involved in corruption and not suitable to stay in his position,8217;8217; Thai government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair said after a cabinet meeting in Mae Sot, a town near the Myanmar border. Witnesses said security had been tightened in Yangon, with troops seen in the streets. The city, however, was calm. Diplomats said that according to rumours, Khin Nyunt was arrested by officers loyal to army commander and Vice Senior General Maung Aye, the number two in the Junta.

Speculation has been rife for months about a widening rift between Khin Nyunt, who had struggled ever since he was appointed last year to implement his 8216;8216;roadmap to democracy8217;8217;, and Than Shwe.

The military has ruled the former Burma in various guises since 1962 and refused to hand over power to Nobel laureate Suu Kyi after her National League for Democracy NLD won a 1990 election.

Signals that an internal power struggle had reached a climax emerged early in the day from Thai military sources.

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A Thai Army general said he had been told that Maung Aye, unhappy with Khin Nyunt8217;s leadership, had pressed the Prime Minister to resign during a meeting on Monday night. The last leadership shakeup in Myanmar occurred in 1992, when Than Shwe, with Khin Nyunt8217;s backing, ousted Senior General Saw Maung and diplomats said they did not expect Khin Nyunt8217;s supporters to put up a fight. 8212;Reuters