Myanmar statute talks open, NLD boycotts meet

Myanmar's military junta today opened constitutional talks despite a boycott called by the pro-democracy Opposition over the detention of it...

Myanmar8217;s military junta today opened constitutional talks despite a boycott called by the pro-democracy Opposition over the detention of its leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Officials said 1,076 delegates, mostly handpicked by the government and from all walks of life including farmers, workers and academics, attended the forum which is being held north of Yangon.

8216;8216;The emergence of the state constitution is the duty of all citizens of our country. We are now in the meeting hall to discharge this duty which is of utmost importance,8217;8217; convention organiser Lieutenant General Thein Sein said in an opening speech.

Thein Sein said that during the national convention, delegates would formulate principles that would become the basis of a constitution for Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military for four decades.

The talks are the first step in the regime8217;s 8216;8216;roadmap to democracy8217;8217; unveiled last year, which purportedly would end in free elections. The process has been dismissed as a sham by Washington as well as human rights groups.

Thein Sein insisted in his speech that the talks would be held under the same precepts that governed an earlier convention which began in 1993 but collapsed in 1996 when the National League for Democracy NLD walked out.

The junta8217;s refusal to reform the rules were another reason behind the boycott from the NLD, whose leader has been in detention for one year despite intense international protests. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia8217;s Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said a way must be found for NLD to attend key constitutional talks that began today.

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Syed Hamid said the NLD8217;s absence was a 8216;8216;hiccup8217;8217; that had to be addressed and the junta should be serious about engaging with Aung San Suu Kyi.

8216;8216;Hiccups do happen from time to time. In the process of trying to reconcile, the best thing is for them to find ways of making sure they NLD attend,8217;8217; he told reporters.

8216;8216;We have to know exactly what happened and why the party did not come. These are important steps that everyone must be involved in,8217;8217; he said.

On engaging with Suu Kyi, he said: 8216;8216;They have to be serious. It is important that the right moves are made.8217;8217; 8212;PTI