REFUGEE

KANDY, Sri Lanka — Dozens of dancers, drummers and three elephants greeted Myanmar's reclusive junta leader as the elderly general began a pilgrimage in Sri Lanka Friday on a rare foreign outing.
Schoolchildren cheered and waved paper flags of both countries and passers-by took pictures as the visiting leader's motorcade slowly drove through the narrow streets of the central Buddhist pilgrimage city of Kandy.
General Than Shwe and his wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing, both dressed in white tunic tops and gold embroided sarongs, clasped their hands in prayer as a saffron-robed Buddhist monk invoked blessings on their arrival.
Their 26-member entourage later moved to pray and meditate at the historic Temple of the Sacred Tooth relic, that was once bombed by the now defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 1998.
The junta leader, believed to be in his 70s, looked to have recovered from a stomach bug on Thursday and was able to climb the stairs to the gilded roof chamber at the temple, where the tooth of Lord Buddha is believed to be enshrined.
He has looked physically frail since arriving on Thursday, but on the few occasions he has spoken publicly, his voice has been firm.
He stressed the "history of close Buddhist ties" between his country and Sri Lanka during a meeting with Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on Thursday and occasionally stopped to ask questions from officials on Friday.
Sri Lanka and Myanmar both practise Theravada Buddhism and have had cultural and religious ties since the 11th century. Speaking through an interpreter, Than Shwe said he was honoured to worship at a historic Buddhist shrine.
He is on his first overseas visit since 2004 and will leave on Saturday for the ancient site of Anuradhapura where he will visit more Buddhist sites, Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said.
The junta leader is due to receive blessings from Buddhist monks at a temple outside the capital Colombo on Sunday before he leaves.
His visit has outraged Myanmar monks living in Sri Lanka, who warned Colombo that its increasingly close relations with Myanmar's military regime would further raise international concern over the island's human rights record.
A spokesman for the monks, who identified himself as Nyanasyri, told AFP Thursday that they were not demonstrating out of fears for their safety.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962 and the regime stands accused of human rights violations, including the repression of monks, journalists and political opponents -- most notably pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
Than Shwe donated a 10,000-dollar cheque to the temple on Friday, and the Temple custodians in turn presented him with a bronze plaque and an intricately carved silver tea set.
They also explained the legend of how the temple's tooth was snatched from the flames of the Buddha's funeral pyre, and was smuggled into Sri Lanka hidden in the hair of a princess.
Than Shwe and his family, which included his daughters and grandchildren, posed for pictures just outside the red-roof temple and planted a mango tree to mark his visit.
As he walked around the temple, a few Western tourists eagerly followed him around taking pictures.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse visited Myanmar in June and thanked the junta for providing relief supplies for Sri Lankan civilians displaced earlier this year during the final stages of fighting between troops and separatist Tamil rebels.