Myanmar's national convention to lay down principles for a new state constitution is due to resume its session here Monday morning after eight-month adjournment since the end of March to push forward its roadmap process to democracy.

The national convention, as the first step of the country's seven-point political roadmap to democracy laid down by the government in August 2003, formally resumed on May 17, 2004 after a long suspension since March 1996.

The remaining six steps of the roadmap are outlined as undergoing a national referendum on draft of the constitution, holding a general election to produce parliament representatives and forming a new democratic government.

Since the national convention first started in 1993, it has adopted 104 basic principles for drafting the state constitution and detailed ones for seven chapters -- "The State", "Structure of State", "Head of State", "Designation of Self-Administered Divisions or Zones", "Formation of Legislature", "Formation of Executive", "Formation of Judiciary", "Sharing of legislative power".

The resuming session at the Nyaunghnapin Camp, about 40 kilometers north of Yangon, is to seek approval to lay down detailed basic principles for sharing the executive and judicial powers, and discuss such principles for relations among parliaments and the role of the Tatmadaw (armed forces) as a follow-up of the previous phase.

More sessions will follow in the future to deal with citizens and fundamental rights and responsibilities of citizens, elections, political parties, prescriptions for the state of emergency, amendments of constitution, state flag, state emblem, national anthem and capital as well as prescriptions in transitional period.

At a press briefing last Saturday, government spokesmen said the holding of the national convention is to give rise to a firm constitution for the establishment of a discipline-flourishing democratic nation. However, no time frame was revealed.

The officials also criticized the National League for Democracy (NLD) for delaying the national convention process by a walk-out in 1995 and then in 2004 when the convention was first resumed. Along with the NLD, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) and Shan State Kokang Democratic Party (SSKDP) boycotted the convention.

The officials maintained that the national convention is only to work out the principles and does not deal with the drawing up of the new constitution and holding of referendum.

The officials disclosed that 1,088 delegates have been invited to attend the resuming session of the national convention.

These invited delegates come from eight categories of delegate groups mainly including political parties, representatives-elect ( in the 1990 general election), state service personnel (including armymen) and invited individuals (including turned-in former anti- government ethnic armed groups).

Source: Xinhua