Mad generals amass fortunes while people suffer: 4 b$ from gas sale: not a cent to Nargis victims

A sprawling new capital dubbed the "Abode of Kings", lavish weddings for family members, palatial villas -- Myanmar's ruling generals appear to have few qualms about spending money.

After more than 45 years of isolation and military rule, Myanmar is officially one of the world's poorest countries, with per capita gross domestic product (GDP) well below that of nearby Cambodia, Laos and Bangladesh.

The junta spends just 0.3 percent of GDP on health care, and 1.3 per cent on education, UN figures show. Yet while ordinary people grow poorer, critics say the generals have been lining their pockets with profits from the nation's vast bounty of oil, gas, tropical hardwood forests, and mines brimming with gems.

Economic sanctions from Europe and the United States were tightened after last year's deadly crackdown on demonstrations sparked by rising fuel costs, but booming Thailand, India and China continue to be big customers.

A semi-official Myanmar newspaper reported last month that the country earned 2.7 billion dollars from gas exports in 2007, an 80 percent increase from the previous year as more wells come on line. Sean Turnell, an expert on Myanmar's economy with Australia's Macquarie University, estimates that the top generals have about four billion dollars in foreign exchange reserves.