Sep 30, 2007 (DVB)-Ngway Kyar Yan monastery, which was raided by government troops on Wednesday, was quickly cleaned up and restored by the Ministry of Religious Affairs in advance of United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari’s arrival in Burma yesterday, according to sources close to the monastery.

The monastery, located in Rangoon’s South Okkalapa towhnship, was ransacked by government troops at midnight on Wednesday night during mass raids on monasteries in Rangoon. Photographs showing the damage to the monastery following the raids were widely disseminated soon afterwards.

"All the mess left during the army’s raid in Ngway Kyar Yan monastery was cleaned up by officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The monastery was also renovated and now it looks like a new one," said a South Okkalapa resident who lives near the monastery.

The clean-up and renovation was carried out yesterday within a few hours, with soldiers on guard around the monastery while it took place. New monks have also been placed at the monastery following the arrests of large numbers of monks during the raid.

Local residents have assumed this action was an attempt to hide the evidence of the violence committed by soldiers during the raid in advance of Gambari’s anticipated arrival yesterday afternoon, the resident told DVB.

"They are just lying to try to hide the truth. They have lied this way many times in the past. They are still lying in the present. And they will keep lying in the future too," he said.

Reporting by Maung Too