UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari told Myanmar yesterday to stop arresting dissidents, even as the military junta vowed to plough on with its own ?roadmap to democracy? regardless of widespread international criticism.

?We will go ahead. We will not deviate from our path,? the official New Light of Myanmar said in a commentary on the generals? seven-point masterplan, unveiled in 2003, to chart a course towards civilian government after 45 years of army rule. ?Those who sincerely want to hold hands with us are welcome,? the paper continued in uncompromising tone. ?We will get rid of the barriers and obstacles on the way.?

Gambari, in Bangkok at the start of a regional tour to drum up support for a coordinated front against the junta, said actions spoke louder than words ? and that the continued arrests and intimidation of activists were ?extremely disturbing?. ?These actions must stop at once,? he told reporters after a one-hour meeting with Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram.

?I?m more concerned about what they?re doing, not what they?re saying,? Gambari said. ?The United Nations calls on the Myanmar government to release all political detainees, including those arrested during the demonstrations.? After Thailand, Gambari said he would be heading to Malaysia, India and China ? all of them trading partners of Myanmar which so far have opposed any imposition of sanctions, the tactic preferred by Western governments.

Gambari will also travel to Tokyo, where emotions are still high at the shooting of a Japanese journalist, one of at least 10 people killed when soldiers were sent in to clear the streets of the biggest anti-junta protests in nearly 20 years. Myanmar official media described the death of Kenji Nagai as ?an accident or an unfortunate incident?, but said the 50-year-old cameraman was partly to blame. ?He came to the country on a tourist visa and acted like a journalist dishonestly,? the New Light said. ?One who entered the country on a tourist visa should act like a tourist.?

Video footage smuggled out of the former Burma, which routinely denies foreign reporters media visas, appeared to show Nagai being shot dead at point blank range by a soldier.