ミャンマーコミュの1月４日はビルマ独立記念日

Six decades after independence from British rule, millions in Myanmar live in poverty [EPA]


Myanmar's ruling military has called for "discipline" as the country marks 60 years of independence from Britain.



The country has spent much of the past six decades under military rule and is still reeling from a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests last September.



Friday's anniversary was marked with a simple flag-raising ceremony and a message from the country's secretive senior ruler, General Than Shwe.



In the message he made no mention of the September protests - which were triggered by a sudden hike in the price of fuel - nor of the government crackdown on monks and pro-democracy activists who led the demonstrations.




Democracy activists are calling for greater
international pressure on Myanmar [EPA]
Instead Than Shwe reiterated that the military would make democratic reforms according to its own so-called "road map" – a drawn out process which is supposed to culminate in elections at an unspecified date.



Myanmar's last election held in 1990 resulted in a landslide win for the National League for Democracy, the party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar's assassinated independence hero, Aung San.



But the military refused to recognise the result, and Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of the years since living under house arrest.



In 1991 she won the Nobel Peace Prize "for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights", the Nobel committee said.



In his message, published in Myanmar's three state-run newspapers, Than Shwe called for the country's co-operation in building what he called a "discipline-flourishing democratic state".



He said the country's eventual constitution was being drafted according to the "fundamental principles" outlined by a constitutional convention, which recently wrapped up after 14 years of rambling meetings.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/54AD90D5-C4A6-476D-BAEE-B69AEAC3EB28.htm


Than Shwe's message was also read aloud by a government official at an annual flag-raising ceremony in a park in Yangon, the former capital, where witnesses reported tight security in case of further protests.