Myanmar opposition calls for new "leading body"

4 Jan (AFP) - Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition called Wednesday for a new "supreme leading body" that would bring together the military rulers, political parties and ethnic groups as a prelude to democracy.

U Lwin, spokesman for the National League for Democracy, said in a speech marking Independence Day that a new governing body could guide the country in a transition to democratic rule.   "It is not realistic to expect to reach our objectives instantaneously. We must go through a transitional period within a specified time frame," he said.

"For this matter, it is now urgently required to take action for the formation of a supreme leading body comprising the current authority of the State Peace and Development Council (the ruling junta), the representatives of the political parties...and the forces of ethnic nationalities."

But in a statement released to mark the 58th anniversary of independence from Britain, the NLD said any substantive political dialogue with the junta would require the release of its leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.   U Lwin spoke to a group of some 400 party members, diplomats, politicians and student leaders at the party's headquarters in Yangon.

Before the ceremony, NLD chairman Aung Shwe and other party members released 60 doves and 120 sparrows while party members shouted "May Daw Aung San Suu Kyi be free" in front of the party's offices.

Student leader Min Ko Naing wore a T-shirt bearing Aung San Suu Kyi's picture and the words "Set her free." "When I see her photo on my chest, I remember the one who is not free on the eve of Independence Day. She is representing our Myanmar people who are not independent yet," Min Ko Naing said.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace prize winner, has spent more than 10 of the last 16 years in detention and is currently under house arrest.

Security forces watched and took pictures and video of the event. The military held its own Independence Day ceremony at a Yangon park that was sealed off to the public.

The junta has come under mounting international pressure to follow through on promises to make democratic reforms. It has agreed to accept an envoy from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations group, of which it is a member.

Last month it resumed talks between hand-picked delegates on a new constitution, but has set no date for completing the document or moving to hold elections.

Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD won 1990 elections but was never allowed to govern. Its provincial offices have been shut down by the junta.