Myanmar to deal with protests "correctly"-diplomat

BANGKOK, Sep 25 (Reuters) Myanmar's junta said today it would deal with this week's mass protests demanding an end to decades of military rule in a ''correct fashion'', Britain's ambassador to the former Burma said.

After a meeting with two deputy ministers in Myanmar's new capital, Mark Canning said the defence ministry appeared to be leading the government's response to the protests, spearheaded by young Buddhist monks. ''They both assured me that it would be dealt with in a ''correct'' fashion, whatever that means,'' Canning told Reuters by telephone from Yangon.

Canning said that at one point the ministers had dismissed the protests, which started in mid-August with sporadic civilian marches against shock increases in fuel prices, as ''foreign-inspired meddling''.

''I said you'll be making a very serious mistake if you believe that. You need to look beneath what's happening and address it urgently, because it's not going to go away,'' Canning said.

He said that all the other ministers in Naypyidaw, 385 km (240 miles) north of Yangon, appeared to be in ''some sort of crisis meeting'' chaired by the Ministry of Defence.

REUTERS JK PM2007