The trial for the 18 is at a court in Insein, a northern suburb of Yangon, that is home to a prison where political detainees are usually kept.Those arrested include six Americans, three Thais, three Malaysians, three Indonesians, two Filipinos and an Australian.

The government has not said what charges they will face. But most political detainees are charged under Section 5 J of the 1950 Emergency Provision Act, a law that allows authorities to hand out maximum 20-year jail sentences for attempting to incite unrest or disrupt the peace and stability of the state.

The foreigners were detained the day after the 10th anniversary of a nationwide democracy uprising that was brutally crushed by the military.The activists have been kept at a military guest house in the capital. Diplomats who visited them described them as cheerful, well-fed and treatedhumanely. The government, however, issued a statement saying their release had been delayed because they were being uncooperative. More ap ac snd1230 Mumbai 13 35 Myanmar-foreigners two last yangon.

The military government issued a statement this week, however, saying their release had been delayed because they were being uncooperative.

The military is attempting to find a way to discourage foreign activists from entering Myanmar and inciting the population to revolt, while at the same time avoiding repercussions from the governments of countries from which the activists come.

Earlier this year, the military government sentenced a British national, James Mawdsley, to five years in prison for also handing out pro-democracy leaflets here. He was released after three months.

Mr Mawdsley had been detained in 1997 for a similar action, but was deported with just a warning from the government not to return.

Myanmar citizens put on trial rarely ever receive an attorney to defend them, democracy activistsand human rights groups have said. Trials usually consist of reading out the charges and sentencing the accused, they say.

Most trials take less than an hour, as the sentence has already been decided by officials higher up in the government, the activists and groups say.The foreigners are unlikely, however, to receive the same treatment. Mr Mawdsley was represented by a Myanmar lawyer at his trial.

Insein prison, which sits just beyond the court, is where hundreds of political prisoners are kept along with violent criminals.

Political prisoners are frequently subjected to torture and kept in solitary confinement or cells meant for military dogs, human rights groups and former prisoners say.

In 1995, the international red cross pulled out of Myanmar in protest after it was not allowed access to political prisoners.