Burma completes charter outline

Delegates to the convention are picked by the government

Burma's military leaders have declared 14 years of constitutional talks complete, and formally closed the National Convention.

Acting PM, Lt Gen Thein Sein, said an outline for detailed principles for a new charter was in place, and work could now begin on drafting it.

Drafting a constitution is part of a process the leaders say will lead to polls, but no timetable has been set.

It comes as another public protest ended with three arrests.

A planned 240km (150 mile) protest march from Labutta town in the Irrawaddy Delta to the former capital, Rangoon, was halted almost as soon as it began.

Burma has witnessed a wave of public dissent in recent weeks over a doubling of fuel prices, leading to the arrest of more than 100 activists.

It is the most sustained public dissent Burma has seen in 20 years, but whether it has rattled the military government is hard to tell, the BBC's Andrew Harding says.

Boycotting

Foreign media were barred from the closing ceremony of the assembly, held at an army camp north of the main city, Rangoon.

"Thein Sein said the National Convention has successfully concluded its work. He called it a victory for all people," one delegate to the talks told the French news agency AFP.

The National Convention first convened in 1993, but was suspended for several years. It resumed in 2004, with the aim of creating a new charter.

The government says that once the charter is complete, under a so-called "roadmap to democracy", a referendum will be held, followed by elections.

But observers have called the assembly a sham, because its 1,000 delegates have been picked by the government.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, whose landslide victory in 1990 polls was ignored by the military, is boycotting it.

Analysts say that any charter the assembly endorses will be aimed at cementing the power of Burma's military leaders.