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The military regime on Friday turned down a request by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon that the regime amend the new constitution to "ensure inclusiveness," Information Minister Brigadier-General Kyaw Hsan told Gambari in a long lecture to the visiting envoy that was printed in all state-controlled media Saturday.

"The Constitution has already been drafted and it should not be amended again," Kyaw Hsan said.

In a letter dated February 19 to Burma's military supreme Senior General Than Shwe, the UN secretary general called for an amendment to the current draft constitution that would drop a clause excluding all Burma nationals married to foreigners from running for election.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace prize laureate who has been under house arrest since May, 2003, was married to the late Michael Aris, a British professor at Oxford University.

The new constitution, drafted by a military-appointed forum, will be voted on in a referendum in May, this year.

It is widely expected that the constitution will be approved by the referendum, which is expected to be manipulated.

The referendum is part of the regime's so-called "seven-step road map" to democracy that will culminate in a general election now scheduled in 2010.

Critics have faulted the constitution-drafting process for failing to include input from the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party led by Suu Kyi and other opponents to the regime, leading the UN to call the document a "sham."

Kyaw Hsan faulted the UN for being biased against the regime, which only last September cracked down on anti-military protests led by Buddhist monks, leaving at least 31 people led.

The information minister noted that the world community has not objected to Thailand's new constitution, passed last year, despite the lack of participation by Thai opposition parties in the drafting process, nor the recent constitutions passed in Iraq and Afghanistan, despite the lack of participation by their opponents, including Muslim militants with al-Qaeda links and the Taliban, respectively.

"We haven't heard any objection to these events by those persons and organizations who are objecting to us," said Kyaw Hsan. "It is not fair. The United Nations should stand fair and square without bias.

He also criticized Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years, for turning down the regime's request that she openly oppose western sanctions on Burma as a precondition for holding talks with her.

"Although we have opened the door for 'win-win' situation, NLD and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are refusing to join hands," Kyaw Hsan said.

He urged the visiting envoy to support the junta's "seven step" roadmap and stop pursuing alternatives suggested by western democracies.

"We shall not accept any attempt to hinder or reverse the process of the seven-step Road Map. However, we will heartily welcome the positive suggestions of the UN to help implement the seven-step Road Map," Kyaw Hsan concluded.

Gambari reportedly promised to onpass the minister's "clarification" to the UN the Secretary-General.

Gambari, who arrived in Rangoon on Thursday, was scheduled to meet with NLD members Saturday morning. It is anticipated that he will soon hold talks with Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest in her Rangoon home for almost four years.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur