YANGON, Oct 8: Myanmar’s military junta suggested on Monday that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi would remain under house arrest until a new constitution was approved -- a dim and distant prospect, according to most analysts.

A commentary in the New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the generals’ official mouthpiece, also gave short shrift to the demands of the thousands who joined last month’s protests.

“The three demands of the protesters -- lowering consumer prices, release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, and national reconciliation -- cannot be satisfied through protest,” the paper said.

“Now, those responsible are making arrangements to draft the state constitution and collect the list of voters,” it said. “When the state constitution is approved, the fulfilment of the three demands will be within reach.”

Holding a referendum on a new constitution is the fourth stage in a seven-step ‘roadmap to democracy’.

For Ms Kyi, who has spent nearly 12 of the last 18 years in prison or under house arrest, the omens are not good.

Stage one of the roadmap -- a national convention to draw up the ‘detailed basic principles’ of the charter -- took 14 years.

Stage two -- “step-by-step implementation of the process necessary for the emergence of a genuine and disciplined democratic state” -- is so unclear that few know what it means.—Reuters