Members of Burma's self-proclaimed government-in-exile have unveiled a
proposal for reconciliation with the country's ruling military leaders.
The
proposal calls for changes to the controversial army-backed
constitution that Burma passed last year, including a plan that would
require the military to share its authority with political groups.
The
exiled dissidents and opposition group members reached the agreement
Thursday on what they call a movement for democracy. They announced
the plan following a meeting in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
The
government-in-exile was set up after Burmese military authorities
refused to recognize the results of a 1990 election that would have
given a large majority of parliamentary seats to opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.
On
Tuesday, a Burmese court found the pro-democracy leader guilty of
violating an internal security law and sentenced her to another 18
months of house arrest.
The European Union reacted to the
sentence Thursday by announcing it was extending sanctions against
Burma, including travel bans and a freeze on the assets of some Burmese
officials.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the past 20 years in some form of detention in Burma.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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