Myanmar’s Junta Chief Than Shwe revealed in his 15-minute speech in front of 13,000 soldiers in a ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day that civilians will take over the government after the elections in 2010, as soon as the constitution is approved. The said constitution will give broad powers to the military. However, neither the date as to when the proposed constitution will be presented to the public nor the schedule for a referendum to approve it was yet to be disclosed.
Chief Than Shwe made this announcement in Naypyidaw, the new capital of Myanmar, where foreign journalist were not allowed to cover the event. In fact, these media men were not denied visas, six months after the crackdown on Buddhist monks who led the pro-democracy protests.