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Burma?s constitution talks begin
Burma's military government has opened talks on a new constitution, despite a boycott by the country's main pro-democracy party.The National League for Democracy has opted out of the talks as its leader Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest. The junta pressed ahead with the constitutional convention, saying that the event was a historic step towards democracy. But correspondents say the event is likely to lack credibility.
Some ethnic minority groups are also boycotting the talks, which have attracted about 1,000 delegates and are being held at a compound outside the capital Rangoon. Burma, also known as Myanmar, has been criticised by the United States and the European Union over its human rights record and the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition members.
The NLD announced its decision to boycott the convention after the junta refused to release Aung San Suu Kyi and vice chairman Tin Oo, both of whom have been detained since last May. Party chairman Aung Shwe told reporters: ?The NLD does not believe that it will be able to benefit the nation by participating in the National Convention. Therefore, the NLD decided that it will not attend.? Aung Shwe also said the government had turned down the party's key demand that it reopen all of its offices before the convention. Currently, only the party's headquarters in Rangoon are open.
The NLD won 1990 elections by a landslide but the military refused to hand over power. Outside Burma, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi is seen as a vitally important step in the path to democracy. But the government in Rangoon maintains the opposition leader is not a fundamental part of the process. A similar convention was held in the 1990s but it collapsed when the NLD walked out, accusing the junta of manipulating the process.
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