Defiant Burmese junta marks independence day

Last Updated: Sun, 4 Jan 2009 20:00:00 +1100

Burma has marked its 61st anniversary of independence on Sunday with pomp and defiance.

About 3 thousand ministers, government employees and senior officials attended the ceremony and the formal military parade in the remote capital of Naypyidaw, 400 kilometres north of Rangoon.

Senior General Than Shwe took the occasion to call on citizens to support his seven-step "Road Map" to democracy, which will lead to multi-party elections next year.

But pro-democracy activists say the polls are a sham, that aim to cement the military's grip on the nation.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is banned from running in the elections and 25 percent of parliament seats are reserved for the armed forces.

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