Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar's proposed democracy plan lacks credibility because the ruling military junta has failed to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and involve her party in talks, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said.

``The road-map process will be incomplete, lacking in credibility and therefore unable to gain the full support of the international community, including the countries of the region,'' Annan said in a statement, according to the UN Web site.

The national convention organized by the junta to discuss a new constitution fails to conform with resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, Annan said. The military leaders should take advantage of the convention's adjournment this month to release Suu Kyi and start talks with her National League for Democracy party, Annan said.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962. The junta rejected the 1990 election victory of the National League for Democracy. The country of 42 million people has faced international sanctions since then. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since May 2003.

Annan said countries in the region must take a leading role in ``actively counseling'' Myanmar's government to accelerate the process of democratization and national reconciliation.

``The secretary general accepts that Myanmar faces complex and difficult challenges in its transition to democracy and its quest for national reconciliation,'' the UN statement said. The junta must reach agreement with armed ethnic groups who have fought the government in the past on joining the political process, Annan's statement said.

The secretary general called on the government to allow Razali Ismail, the UN envoy to Myanmar, to return to the country as soon as possible to help promote reconciliation, it said.

Asean Nations

Myanmar is a member of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The U.S. and European Union have said the group needs to take a tougher stand with the ruling junta. Asean hasn't joined the U.S. and EU in imposing sanctions on the military government.

The National League for Democracy has made an attempt to bring Suu Kyi's case to a court in the capital, Yangon, Agence France-Presse reported, citing an unidentified party official.

Court officials refused to sign the party's petition calling for her release, a condition for the case to be heard, AFP said.

U.S. President George W. Bush in May extended sanctions that include a ban on Myanmar's goods and a freeze on the assets of leaders of the junta.

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 17, 2004 21:49 EDT