Thai PM to talk democracy with Myanmar strongman

Thai PM to talk democracy with Myanmar strongman

Dec 7 (Reuters) - Thai PM Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Thesday he will meet Myanmar military strongman Than Shwe in Yangon this week to discuss the junta's much criticised ''roadmap to democracy.''

His Dec. 9 trip, a rare visit to the diplomatically isolated generals by an Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) leader, comes amid growing pressure on Yangon to make good on promises to start moving towards civilian rule.

The fate of a constitution-setting National Convention, which forms part of the democracy roadmap unveiled last year by outed Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, would top the agenda, Thaksin told reporters.

''Mostly, we will discuss the National Convention and every issue of concern to the international community because we are Myanmar's neighbour and sometimes we have to explain the situation to others around the world,'' Thaksin said.

ASEAN, which groups Brunei, Cambodia,Laos,Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar and the Philippines, is becoming increasingly embarrassed by the military junta in the former Burma, which is due to take over the groups's rotating chairmanship in 2006.

The continued detention of democracy icon and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is of particular concern.

Last week, Indonesia broke ASEAN's official code of silence on the internal affairs of its members, accusing Yangon of dodging the issue of Suu Kyi's house arrest and saying there was a gap between the military government's statements and reality.

At an ASEAN summit in Laos last month, Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win repeated Yangon's mantra that the junta remained committed to its plans for transition to democracy after more than four decades of military rule.

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