International pressure is mounting on the Myanmar military junta as the date approaches for next month’s elections.

Foreign election observers and international media will not be allowed into the country for the Nov. 7 poll, authorities announced on Oct 18. Foreign diplomats and Myanmar-based UN personnel would be able to observe.

The election commission chairman, Thien Soe, said there was no need for foreign monitors as “our country has a lot of experience in elections.”

A US State Department spokesman decried the move, adding, “We’ve already said we don’t think these will be credible elections.”

At the same time the UPI news agency reported that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had told the General Assembly his patience with the regime was wearing thin.

“Myanmar’s lack of engagement is deeply frustrating as it not only contradicts its stated policy of cooperation with the UN but also limits my ability to fully implement the mandate entrusted to me by the General Assembly,” he said.

On Oct 19 The Irrawaddy, the Myanmar exile website, reported the special United Nations rapporteur on human rights in the country, Tomas Ojea Quintana, as saying, “The potential for these elections to bring meaningful change and improvement in the human rights situation remains uncertain.”

The website said the comment came in his annual report to the General Assembly which added, “Conditions for genuine elections are limited under the current circumstances.”

Quintana’s report was dated Sept. 15 but was made available on the UN website on Oct. 19, The Irrawaddy said.

According to the website, Quintana called into question the 2008 Myanmar constitution, introduced after a heavily criticized referendum, saying it “may impede the government from effectively addressing justice and accountability in the future.”

He also called for the release of political prisoners, particularly the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying this would be an “important step to establish an environment for credible, inclusive elections.”

Welcoming Quintana’s report the London-based rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide said, “The time has come for the international community to wake up to the full scale of the situation.”

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