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 29 August 2008 19:19 BST

Burma junta concedes 2010 polls

Saturday, 09 Feb 2008 19:38
Aung San Suu Kyi may not be permitted to stand

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Burma's ruling military junta have announced plans to hold multi-party elections in 2010.

The move will follow a referendum on a new constitution currently being drafted by a government-appointed commission in May this year.

Plans to further democracy in the south-east Asian state come after mass pro-democracy protests in August and September last year left dozens dead.

The junta's statement, broadcast on state radio and television, is the first major concession towards Burma's pro-democracy activists since then, analysts say.

"It is suitable to change the military administration to a democratic, civil administrative system, as good fundamentals have been established," the statement said.

"The country's basic infrastructure has been built, although there is still more to do in striving for the welfare of the nation."

The Burmese junta claims it is fulfilling the conditions of a seven-step roadmap for democracy first introduced in 2003.

It has been in power since 1962 and its actions closely resemble those after the brutally suppressed demonstrations of 1988.

Aung San Suu Kyi won multi-party polls taking place in 1990 but the junta ignored the result. She has been under house arrest for much of the time since then.

It is not clear whether her National League for Democracy (NLD) party will participate in the forthcoming elections. Mss Suu Kyi may be barred from public office because of her marriage to a foreign national, according to reports.End of story


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