UN human rights representative Paulo Sergio Pinheiro refused an invitation last week from Thailand authorities to come and visit Shan state, where many alleged human rights violations have taken place. Ethnic Shan groups expressed doubts that the military government would allow a UN representative to perform a thorough and unhindered investigation into the human rights violations committed in the region by the Thai military. A July report by Shan organizations accused the military of using rape as a weapon of war. Pinheiro was in the midst of an 11-day-fact-finding tour of the country.
