Burma's National Convention writing final draft of constitution

Delegates attending the National Convention in Nyang Hna Pin camp, on the outskirts of Yangon, said the final session was scheduled to wrap up on Monday, although authorities have yet to confirm the date.

The session began on July 18 with 1,058 military appointed delegates in attendance. It's conclusion comes at a time of growing signs of discontent with Burma's military rulers, especially for mishandling the economy.

A decision to double fuel prices on August 15 has sparked angry demonstrations in Yangon, the former capital, and led to crackdowns and over 100 arrests over the past 10 days.

It is likely that Burma's ruling junta will use the conclusion of the national convention to calm discontent with the promise of an eventual election in the country which has been under military rule since 1962.

The National Convention  dubbed a "sham" by many western observers and Burma's chief opposition party the National League for Democracy (NLD)  was launched on October 2, 1992, to draft a new charter for the country which had by then been under military rule for the past 30 years.

The military argued that a new constitution was necessary before it could hand over power to a civilian government, a manoeuvre that was quickly seen as a ploy to hang on to power in the aftermath of the 1990 general election which the NLD, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, had already won by a landslide.  

The convention process, stalled in 1996 by an NLD walkout, was resurrected in 2004 as the first step in the junta's "roadmap" to democracy. 

There have been five sessions since 2004, at which most of the crucial articles on the constitution, such as providing a dominant role for the military in the next government and how to handle power sharing among Burma's myriad minority groups, have been settled.     

At the final session the role of political parties, declaration of state of emergency, creation of the national flag, national emblem and national anthem and amendments were discussed.

The junta has yet to set a date for the country's next polls.

Burma's military has been universally criticised for holding a general election in 1990 and then ignoring its outcome for the past 17 years. The regime has also kept NLD leader Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate and the daughter of Burma independence leader Aung San, under house arrest for nearly 13 of the past 18 years.

//(Deutsche Presse-Agentur/DPA)