Burma 'preparing' first step to democracy

Burma’s ruling military junta is “preparing” for a convention to write a constitution, the prime minister said today.

The move is seen as the first stage in the military’s seven point “road map” to democracy.

However, General Khin Nyunt declined to be pinned down on a timetable for the constitution, or to say whether the junta had any plans to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was arrested in May following a clash between her supporters and a pro-junta group, and her detention prompted international outrage.

The military, which first seized power in the 1960s, has promised a new constitution as the first step in a road map that also proposes elections and a new government. The junta has never given any time frame.

When asked when the convention would be held, Khin Nyunt said: “We are preparing.”

He said “all parties would be involved” in drafting the constitution, but did not elaborate. It was not clear whether this meant that Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy would participate.