Myanmar constitution talks begin without NLD

The absence of the Nobel peace laureate, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) won elections in 1990 by a landslide but was denied power by the military, has stripped the convention of what little legitimacy it had, diplomats say.

The NLD opted out of the talks on Friday after the junta refused to free Suu Kyi and NLD vice chairman Tin Oo from a year of house arrest.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

A total of 1,076 delegates from all walks of life in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation -- most of them handpicked by the government -- turned up for the talks in a tightly guarded military compound about 30 miles from the capital.