Only six weeks after Burma's generals brutally suppressed pro-democracy protests, international outrage is fading, and with it political and diplomatic pressure for change.
Campaigners say the unrelieved plight of the Burmese people is again in danger of being forgotten. In some ways, repression has actually grown worse. Theirs was the "saffron revolution" that never was.
Western diplomats say widespread condemnation of the junta, and additional sanctions imposed by the US and EU, Australia and Japan, have had limited but measurable impact.
After the violence, in which up to 200 people died and unknown thousands disappeared into the night, the UN security council formally took up Burma's case for the first time. It told the generals to stop killing and start a genuine national dialogue.
The UN's envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, visiting the country this week, is expected to be allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, the veteran pro-democracy leader held under house arrest, but not the General Than Shwe, the junta leader.
The regime meanwhile has appointed a "liaison officer" and offered conditional talks with the opposition. Some political prisoners have been released. And a UN human rights rapporteur, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, is expected in Rangoon next week, in the first such visit for four years.
Mr Pinheiro said today he would demand unfettered access to Burma's prisons and investigate how many people the security forces have killed. "If they don't give me full cooperation, I'll go to the plane and I'll go out," he warned. His threat doubtless has the generals shaking in their jackboots.
"After 45 years of military government and several failed uprisings, it would be a little ambitious to think you can get instant results," said a senior British official. "We're trying to use the genuine shock and horror [over September's bloodshed] to engage the neighbours in Asean [the Association of South-East Asian Nations] and China to get a political process and a genuine dialogue going that includes ethnic minority groups."
The US has been more active than the EU. Kristen Silverberg, a senior state department official, this week urged Singapore to sever links between its banks and financial institutions and the Burmese junta.
Although Singapore expressed "revulsion" at September's events, Ms Silverberg said "outlawed" regime figures continued to hold accounts there and used it as an offshore banking centre.
"We're asking institutions and governments worldwide to consider whether their relationships with Burma are helping facilitate this regime," she said.
Despite these efforts, which they broadly applaud, activists say momentum has been lost as other crises, such Pakistan, claim precedence.
Mark Farmaner, of Burma Campaign UK, said the junta was engaged in a familiar game: playing for time, making minimalist gestures that looked positive but signified little, and "talking about talks" rather than real reforms.
"People are still being arrested. The number of refugees is growing. Many people are still missing. Repression is at a higher level than it was before September."
Despite talk of enhanced cooperation, the regime recently ordered the UN's permanent representative to leave the country. Its sole meeting so far with Ms Suu Kyi was, he said, devoid of any substance. Mr Farmaner said:
"The Gambari mission will almost certainly fail. Pinheiro's visit hardly amounts to a breakthrough. We need a much higher level of engagement. Ban Ki-moon [the UN secretary-general] should go there in person. It should be made plain to the junta that what they got away with in the past is no longer acceptable. And we need to set deadlines and benchmarks to measure progress."
Diplomats say further action at the UN is being discussed in the event that Mr Gambari returns empty-handed. But that may be stymied by China and Russia.
The EU may also move to implement a ban on new investment, previously agreed in principle. But it too is divided, with export-minded Germany and Italy among the most reluctant. There are also differences between the US and Britain over offering incentives to encourage the regime's cooperation, a course favoured by the foreign secretary, David Miliband.
Burma was Mr Miliband's first big challenge in his new job, and he rose to it strongly. He energetically embraced the cause of reform and human rights - and threatened further measures if the junta did not cooperate. "It is vital that international pressure on the Burmese regime is maintained," Mr Miliband said.
He was right, of course. But day by day, attention is drifting away. And six weeks is an eternity in international politics.
Simon Tisdall