Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's pages

Geneva: The top U.N. human rights condemned Burma's military junta for abuses including the continued house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The 53-nation U.N. Human Rights Commission unanimously adopted a resolution expressing grave concern over "systematic violations'' by authorities in Burma.

Burma's representative said Wednesday that the criticism was unfair and failed to reflect "positive developments'' in the country, including a state-sponsored convention on the country's political future.

The meeting, scheduled to convene May 17, is part of the military government's self-proclaimed "road map'' toward democracy.

Censure by the U.N. body simply draws attention to a country's human rights record but brings no actual penalties.

Burma's military regime has faced intense Western criticism of its human rights record and reluctance to allow democracy.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged the junta to free Suu Kyi and allow all parties to participate in the convention.

The government has invited other members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy to attend but has left out Suu Kyi and party vice chairman Tin Oo on the grounds that they did not attend a 1996 meeting.

They were in detention at the time and are currently under house arrest again.

The junta seized power from another dictatorial government in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy movement. It called elections in 1990 but refused to relinquish power after Suu Kyi's party won.

Suu Kyi was arrested in May 2003 following a clash between her supporters and a pro-junta mob in northern Burma. Following an international outcry, the junta announced a "road map'' to democracy, including the convening of the convention.

Human rights groups have expressed concern about arbitrary arrests by military intelligence agents, prolonged interrogation accompanied by torture and ill-treatment, incommunicado pretrial detention, and the inability of the accused to challenge the legality of their detention.

The military also has long been accused of using forced labor, and in November 2000 the International Labor Organization urged its 175 member countries to impose sanctions on Burma.

The sanctions were eased in May 2003 after Burma's officials agreed to several suggested measures including the appointment of an ILO liaison officer in Rangoon, the capital.

AP