Myanmar junta rapped over constitutional talks

The National League for Democracy (NLD) said the phone lines to its Yangon headquarters, only recently reopened after a year's closure, were cut on Monday as the convention began, attended by delegates mostly handpicked by the regime.

"This is an indication that we are in for some hard times," NLD spokesman U Lwin said late Monday, adding that it was now up to United Nations chief Kofi Annan to push for concessions from the military government.

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"This duty is Kofi Annan's duty," he told reporters.

The UN chief said the junta risked its credibility by holding the talks despite the NLD's boycott, called when the regime refused to release Aung San Suu Kyi or relax the repressive rules governing the forum.

"The secretary general reiterates that, for the national convention to be credible, it must be all-inclusive and that all the delegates must be able to express their views without sanction," his spokesman said Monday.

The release of Suu Kyi and her deputy Tin Oo, as well as the lifting of restrictions on the NLD, was "essential if the international community is to recognise the national convention" as a legitimate step to democracy.

"The secretary general and his special envoy are dismayed that, despite receiving assurances from the government, (it) did not take these necessary steps," the spokesman said.

The talks are the first stage of a seven-point "roadmap to democracy" unveiled last year, which the government claims will conclude with free elections in a country ruled by the military for four decades.

Delegates have been tasked with setting out principles that would form the basis of a new constitution for Myanmar, to replace one abolished in 1988 when the regime took power as the State Law and Order Restoration Council.

Criticism also came from the European Union, whose Yangon-based diplomats stayed away from the convention's grand opening Monday in protest.

The EU "expressed its concern and deep disappointment that the Burmese authorities, despite previous assurances, have not released Aung San Suu Kyi and have not allowed the National League for Democracy to reopen their offices," it said.