In a statement released by his press office, the secretary general said the announcement of a planned constitutional referendum in May and multi-party democratic elections by 2010 marks 'the first establishment of a timeframe for the implementation of its 'political roadmap process.'

'In light of this announcement, the Secretary General renews his call to the Myanmar authorities to make the constitution-making process inclusive, participatory and transparent in order to ensure that any draft constitution is broadly representative of the views of all the people of Myanmar,' the statement added.

Mr Ban said he believed that 'it is now all the more important for the Myanmar leadership to engage without delay in a substantive and time-bound dialogue with (opposition leader) Aung San Suu Kyi and other relevant parties to the national reconciliation process.'

He added that this latest development 'also makes it essential that a visit to Myanmar by his special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, be allowed to proceed without further delay.'

Professor Gambari, the UN pointman in efforts to foster national reconciliation in Myanmar, has been trying to pay a return visit there as soon as possible. But the ruling junta said such a visit would have to wait until April.

The junta late on Saturday made a surprise announcement that it would bring its proposed constitution before the public for approval in May, setting the stage for elections in 2010.

If held, the elections would be the first since 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory that was ignored by the junta.

US denounces Myanmar
The United States on Monday denounced plans by Myanmar's ruling junta for a May constitutional referendum, calling it a 'sham' vote that makes a mockery of global calls for democratic reforms.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the proposal, which also calls for elections in 2010, 'demonstrates its lack of seriousness about an open and fair process for the restoration of democracy.'

'The drafting process for the constitution does not incorporate the views of opposition parties or all ethnic groups, nor does this timeframe allow for adequate debate on the pros and cons of the proposed constitution, which has not yet been shared with the Burmese public,' she told reporters.

The junta's surprise late Saturday announcement was widely seen as an attempt to defuse mounting international pressure since a September crackdown on protesters against the regime.

At the US State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack called the constitutional ballot a 'sham referendum' because of political repression and a 'pervasive climate of fear' fostered by junta chief's Than Shwe.

'Than Shwe's regime continues to arrest, prosecute, and imprison peaceful political activists,' Mr McCormack said in a statement.

'No referendum held under these conditions - a pervasive climate of fear, in which virtually the entire opposition, including Aung San Suu Kyi, is under detention and the Burmese people have not been allowed to participate in, or even discuss, the drafting of a constitution - can be free, fair, or credible,' he said.

'For the Burmese political process to have any legitimacy - and any hope of creating conditions for the resolution of the country's many problems - it must be made fully inclusive and open to genuine participation,' said Mr McCormack.

'We call on the Burmese government to comply with the United Nations call last October that this be an open and inclusive process that allows all of the Burmese people a fair say in the structure and form of their new government,' said Ms Perino.

Activists reject charter
Pro-democracy activists in Myanmar on Monday warned the ruling junta could unleash a new wave of violence to ensure victory in a constitutional referendum, urging voters to reject the regime's charter.

The 88 Generation Students, a coalition of leading Myanmar democracy activists, said the regime was trying to use the referendum to abolish the 1990 election results and legalise its dictatorship in the country formerly known as Burma.

The group branded the referendum as a 'declaration of war' against the people, accusing the junta of planning to use security forces and state-backed militias to intimidate and even beat the population into approving the charter. -- AFP