This is the first time the ruling military, which seized power in 1988, has allowed the opposition to mark its victory, which was immediately overturned.

NLD leader Sein Win talks about what conditions are like for opposition supporters in Burma

The leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Aung San Suu Kyi, thanked the military regime for allowing her to hold the meeting, but said it was not enough.

"It is necessary to honour the results of the 1990 elections and hold the Parliament session as soon as possible. Let us meet the next time in Parliament," said the winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

She again urged the military regime to open a dialogue with the opposition, a move which she said was unavoidable since the people of Burma willed it and because, otherwise, the country would never solve its deepening political and economic problems.

Extra riot police have been posted around Aung San Suu Kyi's home, where she is under house arrest following her return from exile.

Inspired by Indonesia?

Attempts to hold commemorations in the past have been thwarted by the military, who detained hundreds of NLD members last May despite international criticism.

Head of BBC Burma section says censorship still tight in Burma

However, commentators say the pro-democracy movement in Burma has taken heart from the overthrow of President Suharto in Indonesia.

A leader of the NLD who is now in exile, Sein Win, says that the opposition movement in Burma has been 'very much encouraged' by what happened in Indonesia.

But the head of the BBC Burma section warns that not everybody will know about the events in Indonesia, as censorship is still tight.

Urged not to hold meeting

Earlier this week the government urged the NLD not to hold the meeting in the interest of national unity, but it approved the meeting late on Tuesday, provided certain rules and regulations were observed, which it did not spell out.

But NLD leaders said that even this year 320 delegates have been detained in various parts of the country to keep them from attending, and urged their immediate release. The government has denied this.

Although the NLD won elections in May 1990, the result was overturned by the military, and many opposition MPs at the time were imprisoned.

Burmese exile groups say the NLD has been decimated since it captured 392 of the 485 seats in the 1990 polls. They say a quarter of the victors have been imprisoned or exiled, and two have died in prison.

According to the human rights group, Amnesty International, scores of political activists have been arrested since the beginning of the year, joining hundreds of others in prison.